Operation: OPPOSITE
by Numbuh Phenon
Summary: After a date, Nigel's idle comment seemingly causes Rachel's character to take a turn for the worse. Has the Supreme Leader adopted a new rude attitude, or is something else going on? Sequel to Op: REBOUND.
1. Begin Transmission

**Disclaimer: **I don not own Codename KND.

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**Accessing K.N.D Global Mission Archive**

**Please enter Super Ultra Secret ADMIN Password Code: ●●●●●●**

…**Access Approved. Please Standby.**

…**Please select an Operation Report...**

**Operation** **O.P.P.O.S.I.T.E. has been selected. Please confirm... Confirmation Approved.**

**Now loading:**

**kids next door mission**

**operation:**

**o.p.p.o.s.i.t.e.**

**One's**

**Partner**

**Presents**

**Outrageous**

**Severe**

**Impudent**

**Thoughtless**

**Ethic**

**Initiating Transmission. Please Standby... **


	2. A Little Too Uptight

The life of a Supreme Leader was a taxing one. Especially when you're a kid. Being the leader of an entire organization of crazy children, you had to be responsible and managing of your time. Being the leader meant you had to be the common sense of your group. It meant you had to make all the hard choices no one else wanted to make. It meant choosing your work over your personal matters a great fraction of the time. But most of all, it meant doing gihugic mountains of paperwork that seemed to multiply right on your desk. With all that work, it was no wonder the job of Supreme Leader seemed, _unappealing _to a majority of Kids Next Door operatives. A game of tag had to be the decider, because what kind of kid would want to do that?

Lucky for the Kids Next Door, Rachel McKenzie was that 'kind of kid'. For the first time since the reign of Numbuh Zero, she had actually stepped up and accepted the job when Global Command was about to call a game of tag. She foresaw hard times for the KND when Chad betrayed them, and figured if no one would take the position, then she would. People to this day still wonder if she knew what she was signing up for.

But Rachel knew what she was doing. Sure, she had her off days. Some were she felt about ready to quit, but the girl had always been one to take the initiative. A rare leadership trait that made her excellent for the job.

So as said before, being a Supreme Leader can be stressful to say the least. But with all the negatives surrounding the job, people tended to forget about some of the perks that came with it. For example, Rachel had complete and total say over what went down in the KND. Whatever she ordered, goes. Just unlike Father, she had a strict moral code and followed tradition. Another good thing was that she had the most built up vacation days then any other kid in the organization. She figured it was everyone's way of saying, 'Sorry you got stuck with this job, but hey, at least you can take some time off whenever you want!'. Yeah, but the blonde figured it was pointless. She felt if she was gone for a time frame that extended over a week, then everything would fall apart.

Long story short, Rachel was able to take a day or two off if she wanted to. But she preferred to stay on the moonbase and finish up extra paperwork. Less stuff to do when the holidays come rolling around. But today was different. On this evening, you would not find Numbuh 362 up in her office. No, the girl was mildly walking down the street back to her home. Why was this day any different?

Well, she had never had a date before.

"So, what did you think of the movie?"

The question jarred the girl from her thoughts and she looked to the boy beside her. Keeping at a steady pace was her date, Nigel Uno. The bald Brit was dressed in his usual attire, only real change was that he held a medium drink in his hand. Sipping every few seconds.

Rachel gave off a light smile before answering. "I enjoyed it. I'm a fan of the series and I've been meaning to see it for a while." Her eyes trailed to the ebony sky and watched as stars flickered about. "I've just never had the time I guess."

Nigel pulled his beverage away and nodded. "Well, I'm glad you got a chance to see it." The boy played it cool on the outside, but was inertly grinning with satisfaction. Even though they had officially been together for the past two months this was technically their first date. Sure, they talked to each other with private messages, but they had never had an outing like this before. He wanted everything to go smoothly.

"I just hope Fanny is handling everything okay." His eyes flicked to Rachel when she began to speak. Her golden locks were waving slightly in the night breeze and er brown orbs were locked on the moon. She bit her lip as worry overcame her expression. "I did take her by surprise when I said I was taking the weekend off." She could honestly say she had never seen that look on the red head's face before.

Nigel pursed his lips as he let out a silent sigh. "I'm sure things are fine." He uttered reassuringly. "It's not like they'll go crazy with you gone for two days."

Rachel grinned and let loose a long giggle. "You really need to come up on the moonbase more often." After a few seconds, her feature morphed from mirthful to calculating as she thought of something. "I'm probably going to have check and make sure she filled out Numbuh 275's Request forms for the science department. She tends to skip over them because they're mostly boys."

"That's understandable." Nigel agreed, but not really in to the matter. He just couldn't help but think the whole situation was ironic.

He knew that with dating Rachel, time for just themselves was going to be extremely rare. She was the Supreme Leader after all. As much as a workaholic people claimed he was, compared to her schedule, his looked like it had been managed by Wally's little brother. But they both were busy. He liked to get as many missions as he could in, and she had tons of sheets to write out. They were both committed to their jobs and it was one thing they like about the other.

But learning from his past experiences, Nigel had decided that on any dates he and Rachel went on, or any other time when it was just them, he would try and talk about something other then the Kids Next Door. Time off from his work meant thinking of other things not relating to his work. He figured he need to get better at that if he wanted to keep his current girlfriend.

Sadly, Rachel was more worried about things going to heck if she was gone too long. The boy tried not to complain, but at certain moments during the date, she would fret about the moonbase or looked about ready to check in on them. He knew things couldn't be that bad because no one had called pleading for her to come back. But she didn't see it that way.

Nigel just shook his head and took another sip of his drink. This was probably karma repaying him for when he did the same thing to Lizzie. Besides, he liked Rachel the way she was. Even though she seemed more concerned with- _'I'm a hypocrite.'_ He thought with a frown. What was wrong with him?

"Here we are." He stopped as Rachel spoke out. He looked up before him to see a light blue two story house. It looked very well polished and contemporary. The front lawn was a nice shade of green despite the autumn season and few stray figurines were placed here and there. The girl turned away from her home and faced Nigel an expecting smirk. "Well solider, are you going to walk me up?"

The boy blinked behind his shades before he returned her look. "It's the gentlemanly thing to do." He chuckled as he took her hand and strolled up to the door.

The two operatives made up to the porch without any major delay and it seemed the night was coming to an end. Rachel let go of Nigel's hand before she turned to her door. She glanced at it oddly for a second and shook off whatever she was thinking about and spoke to the boy again. "Thanks again for taking me out, Nigel. I had a good time."

"My pleasure." He responded coolly. His smile slowly dropped when he felt eyes on him all of a sudden. Suspicious, he started scanning the area for the unknown enemy.

Rachel noticed. "What's up?"

"I get the feeling I'm being watched."

"Who would be..." She trailed off as she glanced up to the window to which her confused looked transformed into a sharp glare. "Harvey!" Nigel snapped to the rear, and sure enough, there was Harvey. The boy had his head under the drapes of the window. His face was pressed into the glass, settled into a glare at the Brit. Once his eyes wandered away from Nigel to his frowning sister, he quickly retreated back into the house.

Rachel rubbed her temples before she sighed. "Sorry about that."

Nigel only waved it off, not really bothered by it. "Don't worry. I was expecting it." He pretty much accepted the fact that Numbuh 363's annoyances came along with all this. "I'm just happy you enjoyed yourself."

"Yeah." Rachel then ran a hand through her hair to calm her nerves. "But I think I've had my fun for the weekend. I think I'll just head up back to base tomorrow."

"Oh come on, Rachel." Nigel tried when she was starting up about that again. "Global Command won't go AWOL just because the Supreme Leader is on leave. Remember what happened when Numbuh 100 left for his family reunion?"

Rachel couldn't remember anything important. "No. What happened?"

"Nothing!" He exclaimed. "He was gone for like, a month and nothing bad happened. You don't need to worry yourself so much."

"I know." She agreed to some extent. "But it's just a lot of stress. Everyone comes whining to me about their problems. It's like when everything goes wrong I'm the only one who knows how to fix it."

"Well," Nigel began, scratching at the back of his head. "I wouldn't know. I'm just a sector leader and I have my team to look out for me. I just worry about you sometimes. You act so uptight all the time." He muttered as his foot shuffled against the floor.

Rachel tensed for a second. That phrase just stuck with her for some reason. "Uptight?"

Nigel it his lip. Great, he probably just screwed up. "Uh, it's nothing. Just maybe loosen up a bit?" He patted her on the shoulder in a comforting way. "You don't have to do everything for everybody y'know."

Rachel blinked a few times. Still feeling a bit hurt from that statement. But seeing the Brit's apologetic expression, she shrugged it off for now. "I'll...keep that in mind." To show him she was okay, she moved forward to give him a light hug. "Thanks again."

The boy blushed at the contact, but hugged back nonetheless. "Anytime." The hug would of lasted longer, but the lights of the porch started to flicker on and off. Embarrassed, Rachel pulled away with a nervous smile. "I guess I better be going." He was about to say something else, but the lights started flickering at a more rapid pace. Nigel huffed. Someone obviously wanted him gone. "See you later." Was all he said as he waved then turned down the walkway. Sipping on the last of his soda.

Rachel watched as the boy disappeared down the sidewalk, then did an about face to enter her house. About to give her dad an ear full for humiliating her like this. Once she passed through the doorway, the chilly temperature leapt up a few notches when she finally entered the warmth of her home.

"Yeah that's right. Keep walking Uno." The angry mumbles coming from her right surprised her. Once she closed the door, Rachel looked up to see Harvey for the second time. The boy in yipper pajamas was standing on a stack of books. One hand on the switch for the porch light, and his eyes glowering out the peephole.

The Supreme Leader blankly glared at her brother. He was the one who did that! Clenching her fists, she growled as she addressed him. "Harvey!"

"YAH!" The young boy yelped as he was shocked. He suddenly lost balance and the book stack he was standing on started to teeter. It wasn't long before the sector W leader went tumbling over, arms flopping and all. He snapped his lids shut bracing for impact, but was confused when his body never met the floor. "Huh?" He slowly opened revealing his shining orbs. He almost closed them again when he was met with the up close sight of Rachel's frowning face. "Uh, hey sis. Have a good time?"

The older blonde rolled her eyes as she helped her brother to his feet. "Harvey, what in the name of rainbow monkeys were you doing?"

"Uh." The short boy shifted his eyes and gave a nervous laugh. "Getting rid of unwanted trespassers?"

"So you did that by scaring Nigel away?" She asked with a scolding tone. "Do you know how embarrassed I was? I thought you were dad!"

"Well he said I could!" Harvey argued as he crossed his arms. "And I wouldn't have needed to do this if I knew were my 'Violators Will Be Shot' sign was."

Rachel's eye twitched at that. The sad thing was, she didn't know if he was serious or not. After debating what to do, she just settled with slapping her face. "Honestly Harvey. I have enough on my plate without you trying to run my boyfriend off."

"Don't say that word! I can never un-hear it!" He fussed as he covered his ears. "It's bad enough you're dating Uno, but I don't need to be blinded by the nasty mental images of what you two together." He gagged. But suddenly he froze as his eyes widened. "ACK! The bad thoughts are back!"

A light blush made itself known on Rachel's cheeks. "We're eleven, what do you think we're doing?"

"That's just it. I don't _want_ to think about it!"

"Ugh." Rachel groaned, fed up with this. "Whatever. Look, whatever me and Nigel ever do, we don't need you interfering. Got it?"

"But-"

"Do I need to make it an order?"

When he realized she was getting like that, Harvey just huffed and turned to return to the living room. "Whatever, Miss Bossy-pants."

As her brother left the room, Rachel found herself flinching again. Thinking of what Nigel and now what Harvey said. She wasn't _that_ strict. Was she? Trying to wave it off, Rachel moved to the stairway, intent on going to her room. However, before she could move off the carpet, a hand snapped out and grabbed her shoulder. "AH!"

"Shoes off dear." Frightened, Rachel glanced up to the woman who almost gave her a heart attack. Her mom. The older McKenzie stood over her daughter, her brown hair tucked under piece of cloth to keep offending dust out of her hair when cleaning. She took her yellow gloved hand off Rachel and smiled when she motioned to the rest of the floor. "I just vacuumed."

"R-Right." Rachel responded while she took off her shoes. Her mom was neat freak and it creeped them all out sometimes. "I forgot."

"Oh it's alright." She then tensed as her thumb snapped to rub something off Rachel's cheeks. "You got a little something there." While Rachel rubbed her now red cheek, her mom took off the glove and threw it in a hazard bag tied to her hip. Then without missing a beat, she put another glove back on. "How was your little outing?"

"Fine." Rachel answered as she let her mom wipe off her sweater. It was a routine she was used to. Once the woman was done with her, she zipped to the door where she sprayed some cleaner on the glass and started scrubbing furiously. "Uh mom? Is something going on? You seem more...enthusiastic tonight."

Her mother stopped as she smiled down at her eldest child. "Don't you remember, sweetie? Your uncle Seth is coming over. I'm making sure everything is nice and tidy for when your father gets back with him."

"Oh yeah." Rachel mumbled. She honestly did forget about that. But she didn't care, she was ready to call it a night. She felt tired for some reason. "I think I'll go take a shower and go to bed, mom." She muttered as she walked on.

When she said that, her mother turned to look at her. "Oh? Are you tuckered out?" She then giggled slightly. "Well it must have been fun then. I'm glad! I can't remember the last time you did something other then organize things for your club."

Rachel's hand froze as it gripped the railing. Her mom too? Biting her lip, she twisted around to the woman, wanting to test something. "Hey mom?" The adult paused in her cleaning and gave her full attention. "Do you think I'm... too uptight?"

Her mom blinked before she smiled. "Rachel, it's nothing to be ashamed of." She then laughed as she returned to her work. "Being so productive at a young age thing is a good thing! If other children acted like you, there wouldn't be a need for that new, 'behavioral program' they keep showing on television." She stated proudly, praising her daughter thinking it would quell her fears.

Unknown to her, it had a slight opposite effect. Rachel took her words as a 'yes', and slowly walked up to her room. Thinking about what everyone had said. Was she too strict? Before she wouldn't have cared if someone said that. She was Supreme Leader and someone needed to make the hard choices. But why did the word seem like an insult now? Maybe it was because Nigel said it?

The blond frowned as she made it to her room. This was stupid to think about. Nigel was probably just concerned. That's all. But she couldn't help but feel a bit upset about it.

_You act so uptight all the time._

Rachel narrowed her eyes as she slammed her door. Maybe it would hurt to lighten up a bit. Maybe that would show everyone she wasn't too uptight.

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Parked further away down the street, in the slumbering part of the neighborhood, was a white limousine. The windows were a dark blue tint and a strange icy mist filtered around the vehicle, the temperature seeming even more frigid then it was.

Inside the limo were three people. Once of course being the driver, wishing to high heaven he could turn up the heat. But _no_. His employer liked it cold. Gracious it was nippy in here! Sadly, the driver wasn't all that important. The important ones were in the back.

A woman was seated comfortably in her seat. One leg tucked over the other and her hand holding a glass to her lips, lightly sipping on iced tea. After she had her fill, she lowered the cup and her icy crystal orbs regarded the other person in the space. "Now, do you understand your mission?"

"Y-Yeah. S-Sure." The other figure nodded, huddling trying to get some warmth.

The adult chuckled coldly at her guest's predicament. "What's the matter, dear? Getting cold feet?"

"N-No!" The person protested. "I-It's just t-that... GEEZ! Would it k-kill ya to put a heater in h-here?"

The woman laughed as her hand holding the cup raised up. "Oh trust me. If you're feeling chilly now," She trailed off, and the glass and its contents were suddenly encased in ice. "then you really don't want to see how cold it will get if you fail me." As if solidifying her threat, her hand crushed the ice glass, reducing it to nothing more then mere mist.

The other person paled at that. "D-Don't worry. I-I'll get the job done." The figure's eyes narrowed as she stated her payment. "B-But you better deliver after this is o-over."

"Trust me deary, you'll get what you desire." Her own eyes glared as she frowned. "But only when I acquire that book." She then smirked. "Are we clear?"

The figure grinned despite the cold and nodded curtly. "Crystal, Mother."

**-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-**

**-Transmission Interrupted.**

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**Sorry if this seems a bit lacking, but I kinda felt rushed to get this out. But if you stick with the story, then I promise to deliver.**

**As a fair warning, Rachel will be acting OOC from this point on. Why? You'll see near the end. Is it something to do with the two at the end of this chapter? Maybe, maybe not. R&R!**

**Later.**


	3. Warning Signs, and a Slurpee

**Transmission Interrupted... Please Standby.**

…**Processing... Processing...**

**Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.**

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"... I don't care if she's sick, you're second in command! It is _your_ job to take charge of the sector leader's duties when they themselves are unable to do so!" Rachel fumed into one of the various transmission screens on the moonbase. "So quit making excuses and stop the Common Cold from infecting those kids!" The operative moodily agreed and gave a halfhearted salute before he cut the feed. Rachel let out a long strain of breath she had been holding and turned to another screen with another kid tapping her foot impatiently. "And I'll be with you as soon as someone turns the subtitles on, Numbuh 518." She wished the girl didn't look so ruffled with her. What could she do? It wasn't like she could speak chinese.

A week had passed since her and Nigel's date and things had gone back to the norm. Well, as normal as anything could get in this type of life. Rachel figured that it just all came down to her being back on the moonbase doing her job as Supreme Leader as she should be. The blonde didn't return to the lunar station until the weekend was over and she had totally stressed herself out wondering how bad things had been falling apart in her absence.

But then it had been a complete shock for her to find out that everything was okay. No kids were running around like headless chickens, Fanny hadn't turned the place into a female dictatorship, and all paperwork that she herself had to do wasn't that large and was in decent order. Sure, one or two papers had been misplaced, and the mess could have been a little tidier, but all that was just her nitpicking habit she seemed to get from her mom. Things may have not met her personal standards exactly, but she would be lying if she claimed they had been slacking.

_'I'm being too literal.' _Rachel admitted to herself as she starred off into space. _'It wasn't a big shock as much as it was an eye-opener.'_ It put things into different perspective. Her past bad experiences with this line of work had her into believing that things would go to heck in a candy bag if the Supreme Leader wasn't there to babysit every operation. But the Kids Next Door wouldn't fall at the seems just because one kid was gone. There were others like her who would step up and take charge.

The blonde also hadn't been blind to the slight change in atmosphere when she began her seemingly never-ending shift. A few kids had hunkered down at their post and groaned, like she was some taskmaster or something. She frowned as she thought of it that way. So what if they think she was a big mean boss lady? Someone had to be to whip them into shape. This wasn't a game, this was a world wide organization and it needed to be managed as such! Everything would be going a lot smoother if even half of the operatives got off their lazy butts and did their jobs without being told to.

_'I sound like an adult. Heh, fantastic.'_ She mused sarcastically as she blew her bangs away. Her brown eyes softened as she looked about the deck. A few kids were trying to work harder then they should be just so she won't yell at them, and others were sneaking conversation like this was some strict classroom. She sighed sadly as she started to rethink her character as this job tended to make her do. But this time for the better. Nigel was right. It wouldn't kill her to ease up a bit would it?

"_AHEM!"_

Rachel snapped out of her personal musings and turned her attention back to the screen were the leader of Sector C was getting even more aggravated. Her surprise fled her face as she glared to an operative a terminal away from her. "Numbuh 74.239! Why aren't the subtitles up yet?" She quickly snipped as her hands fumbled behind her back.

"ACK!" The orange haired scientist gasped as he jumped up. He had been so focused on his work that he forgot what was going on. "Huh?" Was the noise he made as his neck twisted around to see Rachel's stern expression. "Subtitles? I-I mean, yes! Of course, subtitles." He added with a nervous grin as his fingers blitzed across the keyboard. Suddenly, they ceased all movement as his eyes trailed over the report. "Um, sorry m'am. But it appears lingual servers are down due to system maintenance." He apologetically replied. "We're still cleaning out files infected from Father's virus, and that..._other _thing we found." He hinted with a deep voice trying to add dramatic effect.

Rachel only nodded in understanding and turn to her screen with a groan. "Of course I'll have to do this the hard way." She grumbled as she reached under the counter to get out the old, _'Operatives Speak the Darndest Languages'_, book kids kept when they needed to translate manually. However, her hand stopped as she got an idea. She could exasperatingly flip through pages like she normally did. Or, she could redirect Numbuh 518 to the Chinese Representative down on deck B-88. She really never tried to do that before. She figured all those reps had other matters to attend to and this fell under her duty to handle.

But, she _would_ waste a lot of time flipping through that old book. And the Chinese rep was _very_ interested in Operation: C.H.I.N.A. Which was no doubt what Numbuh 518 had called to discuss. Rachel shook her head a bit. No. She was supposed to be doing this. Rules stated that-

_You act so uptight all the time._

Her eyes widened as Nigel's words came back. Then she frowned as her fist unclenched. Oh, she would show him. All of them.

"Numbuh 518," The blonde began after finally composing herself. "due to maintenance, lingual services are down, and without them I'm pretty much useless to you right now. Guess it's what I get for flunking that course." She idly joked, feeling a bit more confident when she got a tiny smile out of the strict girl. "However, if it's suitable for you, I could reroute you to our Chinese rep, Numbuh 379. He can translate your transmission, send it to me, and I can act accordingly as soon as I can."

After her suggestion was posed, the Sector C leader's face went blank, as if thinking it over. Rachel tensed and began to panic on inside. A brief wave of paranoia overcame her. What if she reported her? This technically was breaking a rule. But then all her false fears vanished when the girl just beamed and gave a thumbs up. The blonde blinked before giving a small smile in return. "Great. Just wait a second while Numbuh 74.239 reconnects you."

The operative in question was trying not to let his jaw clatter to the floor. How could he not? He just witnessed history. But upon hearing his codenumbuh, the brace wearing boy went to work. "Ah yes. A simple twist of our satellite's frequency... and... done." As soon as the last word was uttered, Numbuh 518 disappeared and 74.239 turned on his mic. "Numbuh 9-to-5, let Numbuh 379 know he has a transmission waiting on line 40."

Rachel stared at the blank screens before her. No one else had called in. She saved Numbuh 518 for last because she knew something was up from the get-go. But now that she had just took care of it with a snap, she felt...good. Her eyes closed in bliss. For the first time in such a long span, there was silence over the 'Help-Me!' Hotline. She found herself enjoying this symphony quite well. Maybe she should let up like that more often.

Suddenly, her brows crinkled as she felt eyes on her. She opened her lids and looked over to see Numbuh 74.239 staring at her with a look akin to astonishment. "What?"

"Forgive m'am, but I _must_ be disorientated." He said as his hand pressed against his forehead as if checking for a fever. "Did _the_ Numbuh 326 just shirk a petty responsibility?" His hands gripped his face, tugging at his cheeks to give off an overselling shocked look. "It's a sign of the apocalypse I tell you!"

"Very funny." Rachel muttered as she rolled her eyes. "It was way better then wasting valuable time wiping dust off those century old pages."

"Oh, I concur. It was a more efficient, and less infuriating, solution to this situation." He batted off with an agreeable smile. "It's just that, you never struck me as someone who would resort to that."

"Well, I've been thinking that maybe I don't need to do every little thing." She stated back while jumping off the pedestal. "I have limitations. Not being able to speak different languages is one of them." Her arms folded atop the railing as she peered down below. Watching as every other kid worked while she had some spare time. "Trying to overdue myself is just going to lead to another I.T. fiasco. Besides, nothing is perfect, so maybe I should stop trying to make everything around here as such." The Kids Next Door was just like any other organization, it had it's own problems. The Splinter Cell, if not a better example.

"Interesting philosophy." 74.239 acknowledged as he closed out whatever program he was slaving over. "But I can't help but contemplate that it's brought on by some outside factor. Personal problems maybe?" He curiously inquired while his finger silently moved to hit the delete button.

"No." Rachel calmly answered. "Just a bit of criticism from someone."

"Someone." 74.239 silently repeated to himself. The printer dinged like a toaster and a report file popped out. The scientist took the warm paper and scanned over it's readings. A dark expression befell his face as he read, and his eyes flicked up to analyze Rachel while she was distracted. He quickly tucked the paper into his lab coat and his face brightened as the blonde turned in his general direction. "May I suggest that you take a little break?"

"And may I ask why you're even suggesting?"

"Because I can tell that this character conflict you seem to be having runs deeper then you think. I'm not saying take the day off, but maybe retreat to your personal quarters for a minute or two. Just to let yourself relax." Her face was still skeptical and he crossed his arms; a tad offended. "I _was_ a part time counselor at the Deep Sea Lab y'know."

Rachel's brow raised disbelievingly. "What credentials does a 'part time' counselor have?"

74.239's face stoically blanked. "Have you ever tried to defuse a situation between a group of rabid video game nerds and have your sanity come out intact?"

"Maybe a little break wouldn't hurt." Rachel quickly said after hearing that. If it was one thing she _dreaded_ it was when the scientists started bickering over video games. She still had nightmares about the time they fussed over Sonic 4. _'If I _ever _hear the words, 'model' and 'mine cart' in the same sentence again, I'll-'_

"That's the ticket!" Numbuh 74.239 chorused as he patted her on the shoulder. "And if it's alright with you, I can manage your terminal at the Global Command deck until you get back."

"Thank you." Rachel nodded felt a little weight being taken off her shoulders. But before she could even walk off, he stopped the orange haired boy as she remembered something she needed to talk with him about. "Wait up, Numbuh 74.239. There's something we need to discuss first."

The boy stopped and slightly turned. "Hm?"

"It's about a complaint from Numbuh 77.849." Her brows furrowed as she waved her hands about. "Well, more like a worry then-"

"You tell Carl I don't have his Yipper Card Number 49 anymore! I left it on his desk two weeks ago and-"

"It's not about that." Rachel sternly intervened causing the boy to shut it. The girl rolled her eyes before continuing. "Numbuh 77.849 is worried about your behavior lately."

"My behavior?"

"He says you seem withdrawn all the time. You didn't even show at his house last Sunday to watch the original Dr. Time-Space movie. The one with the deleted scene where he finds out his grandfather was the cause of Rift Eighteen?" Her eyes suddenly shifted as her foot shuffled. "At least, I-I _heard_ that's what happens."

"Thanks for ruining it for me!" He whined. "Serious spoiler alert!" He then let out a sigh as he calmed himself. "But that aside, nothing is wrong. It's just that I've been utterly focused on a new project of mine."

"A project?"

"Yes. One, that once finished, will insure a bright future for all of the Kids Next Door. Every kid in the world in fact." He stated proudly.

"I see." Rachel hmmed before shaking her head. "Well how much longer can I expect you to be working on this project? You're one of my top researchers and I can't have you distracted all the time."

"Time _is_ of the essence." He mumbled, his fingers fiddling with his coat. "But don't worry, I'm very close to finishing. In fact, I was almost done."

"'Was'?" Rachel questioned. "What happened."

"Let's just say a problematic variable placed itself within the equation. And in order to finish, I have to find a way to dispose of it." It was all he said as he turned away, his eyes narrowing once out of distance. "By any means necessary."

Rachel didn't quite catch that last part, but shrugged it off and headed to her office. Taking 74.239's advice and enjoying a break.

But only a short one.

* * *

**two hours later.

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"Welcome to Kids Next Door Moonbase, cadets." Patton Drilovsky, Numbuh 60, spoke as he marched into the uber main auditorium room. A platoon of hopefuls trailing in behind him. The drill sergeant stopped on the dime, and the kids tensed so they wouldn't knock into him. "Get a good, long look at it while ya can. 'Cause the only way you're gonna see it again, is if you maggots survive my torture." He announced without looking back.

A girl with pigtails shivered as she eyed the operative like he was crazy. "D-Don't you mean, training?"

Patton flicked a glance over his shoulder, his black eyes gleamed and his smirk would make lower villains pee themselves. "Why lie about it?"

The girl paled while she tried not to faint. Another curious and brave boy decided to voice his question next. "So, sir. Why are we even up here? Sir." He added trying to appease the sergeant.

"To fill out your final registration forms." Patton explained as he did an about-face to overlook his cadets. "After you have all passed basic training, you all be placed in different branches of the Arctic Base to hone the skill you seem to have an affinity for. These forms help us decide where to place you." His arm suddenly popped out and pointed a series of tables at the other end of the room. "You will fill up those forms over there once Numbuh 57.47 arrives to assist you. Does anyone have any other questions before he gets here?" A boy in the back raised his arm and Patton immediately reacted. "Yes, Johnson?"

"I kinda have a question about an operative."

Patton's eyes trailed to ceiling, wondering if he should answer that. "Depends, which operative?"

"That scary Numbuh 86 lady."

The sergeant groaned. "Numbuh 86 never threw a boy off the empire state building. That was just a Halloween story made up to scare-"

"What? Not that. I had another question." The cadet interrupted. But then he froze as he went over what Patton just said. "W-Wait... she threw-"

"It never happened!" Patton shouted before all the boys ran off in fear. "What is your question then?"

"Oh. Uh, well I'm new here. I heard a lot of things about her, but I was just wonderin'... is she Irish or Scottish?"

"That information is on a strict need-to-know basis." Patton replied emotionlessly without missing a beat. "And off the record Johnson, I would prefer it if you didn't say her name aloud again."

"Why?"

"It's like the old saying goes." Patton muttered. "Speak of the devil-"

"WHADDYA MEAN YE DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS?"

"-and 'she' shall appear." Patton droned as he turned to the source of the noise. Over at the other side was Fanny herself. The Global Tactical Officer, (Or Head of Decommissioning. He didn't know what she was calling herself this week.), was currently in a heated argument with a kid running the concession stand. Normally the boy would feel sorry for the red head's latest victim, but the concession stand runners were known to have backbones.

Frowning, Patton turned to the cadets and they all snapped to attention at his sharp gaze. "Take your seats and await further instruction from Numbuh 57.47." The cadets did as they were told and ran to the table while Patton went to try and cool down Fanny's situation.

"How would _I _know where the Supreme Leader is?" The snack stand owner fussed right back at the furious red head. "What do you want me to do? Check to see if she is hiding behind the green kool-aid!"

"Don't get snippy with me, _boy_." Fanny snarled with fire in her eyes. Finally, she fumed and flung her hands into the air. "I don't even know why I bother! You're stoopid boy mind has probably been reduced ta mush like ya serve!"

"That is it!" The kid raged, throwing his server's hat to the floor. "I am done. I do not have to take this harassment! I am going on break!" He vented turning away.

"Don't ya dare turn yer back on-"

"AH LA LA LA LA! I cannot hear you!" The kid yelled while covering his ear. "What was that? You want Slurpee? Yes? I give you FREE Slurpee!" He quickly stated, shoving the frozen beverage in Fanny's stunned hands. "Goodbye! Thank you! Come again!" As soon as that was said, his hands moved to a lever on the wall and yanked it down. After that, a steel sheet came down blocking the kid and the inside of the stand from sight, and in the middle was a 'Sorry, I'm Closed' sign.

Fanny blinked at the absurdity. She gazed at the now closed stand, then at the Slurpee in her hands. Soon her eyes narrowed and her grip on the cup tightened as her anger heightened. "GAH!" She yelled in fury as she flung the stupid ice drink backwards. She was about to leave, but stopped when she heard the Slurpee collide with something right behind her. She glanced back and there to her continued surprise, was Patton. The cup was bent atop his ski hat, and the contents of the Slurpee had completely covered the upper part of his face.

"Good to see you too, Fanny." The boy growled as the icy chunks dripped down his cheeks. A small bit managed to slip between his lips and he smacked his mouth in approval. "Mmm, blurpurple berry."

"I don't have time for yer stupidity, Eskimo." Fanny groaned as her hand rubbed at her forehand. "I've got a huge crisis on ma hands!"

"You sure do." Patton chimed in while using his ski cap to wipe the icy treat off his face. "If you keep this up, no one is gonna get their snacks this weekend."

"Be serious for once ya life!" Fanny yelled. "Numbuh 362 is missin' and that annoying Numbuh 65.3 won't leave me alone about it!"

"She's missing?" Patton asked sarcastically. Fanny only responded with a curt nod. "And you've checked everywhere?"

"Of course I have! Do you think I'm-"

"Even her office?" He joking asked. But when her mouth opening and shut, he tried his best not to laugh. "Wow. And you call us stupid."

"Aw, shut up!" She grumbled as she stomped off to Rachel's office, leaving Patton to clean up the remains of the Slurpee. His finger scrapped up a bit, and couldn't but help but think it was a waste.

After going up two decks, traveling through an endless portal of whooshing doors, and hiking up a tower of stairs, Fanny finally made it outside her superior's office. The red haired girl placed her hands on her hips and caught her breath. Turns out yelling and running don't make that great of a combination.

Adjusting her helmet, Fanny knocked on the door and awaited reply. "Numbuh 362, m'am! Are ya in there?" After a few minutes, she still received no answer. "Numbuh 362?" Her hand gripped the knob, twisted it, and push in carefully. "Rachel?"

"Wow. I sure wouldn't want people to know about _that_."

Fanny rose a brow when she picked up the voice. It sounded like Rachel, but her voice was tinged with mirth and she was trying her best not to laugh. The girl walked the rest of the way in, only to bite back a gasp of surprise. There at the Supreme Leader's desk, was the Supreme Leader herself. At least she thought it was. On the left side of the room was a large filing drawer hanging open, and piled on Rachel's desk were the files that went in there. Rachel herself was in her chair. The blonde was reading through a file, the folder blocking her face from view.

"Uh, Numbuh 362?" Fanny silently muttered, still stumped by what she was seeing. In all the time she knew Rachel, she had never seen her so...so mellowed out. She was posed in a relaxing position, one hand holding up the folder and the other twirling with her free hair. Her helmet, which she always wore on duty, was on her desk, and she was using it to prop her feet up with. And apparently, she didn't hear her, because she just kept on giggling.

"He gets caught in a soda drinking binge, and he's _still_ public affairs manager? Ha!"

Finally tired of being ignored, Fanny cleared her throat and did what she did best. "NUMBUH 362!"

"WAA!" Rachel screamed with fright as she lost her balance and toppled backwards. Her arms swung out in a clumsy manner and swept all the contents off her desk, which in turn, followed her to the floor. Fanny winced when the blonde moaned, but it was short lived when Rachel reared back up snarling. "WHAT?"

"It's just me, m'am." Fanny replied, still surprised. "What uh... are ya doing?"

Rachel blinked for a moment, her slightly dazed looking still haunting Fanny, until finally but stood up and tried to tidy up. "Oh! Numbuh uh...86! I was, um, looking for a file, and I kinda got sidetracked." She nervously uttered, a little ruffled at getting caught like this.

"I see that, but ya been sidetracked fer two hours!" Fanny exclaimed. "Numbuh 65.3 started whining and causin' everyone to start acting all crazy!"

Rachel rose a brow before she frowned. "Well sorry. I hadn't time to myself in while. It was fun to unwind for a bit." She then grinned as she held up a folder she had been reading. "I mean get this, Numbuh 21 gets soda-drunk and ends up hanging off the top of Sector X's treehouse by his underwear!"

"He had it comin'." Fanny grumbled. But then her eyes widened when she finally realized what kind of files Rachel was reading. "Are...are those Operative's Personal Info Files?" She asked aghast. "Aren't we not supposed to read those unless a kid comes under investigation?"

Rachel only shrugged. "They're all like a gazillion years old. The oldest one I found was all the way back from 1988." To state this fact, she grabbed a handful of folders, and dumped them in her wastebasket. She dusted her hand off and smirked at Fanny. "Think of it as Spring Cleaning, only it's not spring.

Fanny stared at the folders in the trash. She supposed if they were that old... "I guess so." Before she could say anything further, another kid rushed into the office.

"THERE you are, m'am!" Herbert, Numbuh 65.3, proclaimed as he stumbled, carrying a large stack of paperwork. He shifted the teetering tower of sheets, and his head poked around, sweating due to all the weight. "I need you to sign the the 45-Sub A sheets pronto! Then there's the Numbuh 44s' latest case file, and _that's_ gonna be an all nighter!" He then hefted the papers back up and made his way to the door in the back leading to Rachel's private quarters. "Some of these don't need to be filled out for another few weeks, but I'll leave them on your counter since you usually- EEP!" He yelped when he felt a hand grip down on his shoulder. He glanced back expecting to see Fanny. She had been looking for an excuse to sock every boy on the moonbase for a while. But his glasses nearly fell off when he met Rachel's cold stare.

"Don't. Go. In. My. Room." She grounded out. "_Private_ quarters, are _private_ for a reason." Her hand then snapped to the top of papers and scoffed at the sheet she picked up. "And you want me to sign a form deciding whether Numbuh 590 or Numbuh 498 gets the last piece of gum?" She asked disbelieving. "What kind of crud is that!"

Herbert was shocked. Rachel _never_ denied paperwork like this. "B-But, you're the Supreme Leader-"

"And with the duties _I_, as _Supreme Leader_, have to preform, do you think I have time to do something as silly as this?" She asked waving around the sheet. "Well?"

"Uh..." Herbert stuttered. She did kinda, sorta have a point. But, "You've always handled all the paperwork! I gather all the important forms from other departments and they tell me to bring them here to you." He stated with jitters. "At least, that's how it's always been."

"Well I think it's time for a change." Rachel spoke as she rubbed at her chin. Finally, she snapped her fingers. "New rule. Unless the paperwork is important enough for a Supreme Leader to look over-"

"You mean like a Triple Encrypted Ultra Important File?" Herbert questioned curiously.

"Yeah, unless it's...whatever you just said, then all departments have to fill out their own paperwork." She started with a smile. "Perfect solution."

Herbert wasn't so sure. "I don't think everyone will like that..."

"Then tell them 'boo-hoo' and order them to get it done."

"M-Me? Order?" Herbert stuttered. This had to be a dream. Was the Supreme Leader about to... "You mean l-like, be in charge?"

"You said all the others tell you to bring this to me." Rachel smoothly started while patting Herbert on the shoulder. "Aren't you tired of being their running dog? Having them laugh at you just for doing your job?"

Numbuh 65.3 blinked before his brows knitted. "Yeah." His face broke into a full frown as he thought of all the taunts he's endured. "Yes I am! They all think I'm some fat nerd and don't respect me just because I give them missions they don't wanna do! I'm sick of it!"

"Well not anymore!" Rachel cheered, rallying the boy into action. "From now on, other then me, you are in charge of all things paperwork. Fully. If they don't follow _your_ orders, then they can expect punishment from now on." She then slapped the boy on the back and motioned out the door. "Now go get 'em!"

"Yes m'am!" Herbert cheered. Fueled with new purpose, he strutted out of the room like a proud peacock. Well, as best as he could carrying a ton of paperwork. "Get ready losers! 'Cause now it's either my way, or the high-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" He screamed as he tripped over the first set of stairs, tumbling all the way down.

Fanny had somehow managed to remain silent throughout the whole exchange. Her mouth hung open as she watched Rachel give Numbuh 65.3 a promotion. Just so she didn't have to do paperwork that much anymore. It wasn't until Herbert had reached the bottom of the on-going stairwell that she was able to form a response. "What...was _that_?"

"Me trying something new." Rachel offhandedly said as she walked around the room to her desk. "Just because I run everything doesn't mean I have to _do_ everything. Besides, most of the kids up here need to learn a bit more responsibility anyway." That was her justification as she lifted her chair back up. "I think it'll work out well."

"Whatever ya say... I guess." Fanny coughed into her hand. Rachel just seemed very different.

"So." Rachel boringly droned as she plopped in her chair. "What do I have to do?"

"Huh?"

"My job?" The blonde asked as she twiddled with her hair some more. "What exactly do I need to be doing now? Anything important? I would like to get them out of the way."

"Well..." Fanny tapped her chin, only to embarrassingly come up with nothing. "You kinda just, cleared yer schedule."

"You're kidding?" Rachel asked slowly. "You mean all I do is paperwork?"

"No." Fanny started. "Ya do other things like...well if you didn't manage... Argh." She growled frustrated. "I don't know what you do. I don't have yer job! Ya took care of everything else this week, ya usually just use the extra time ta work on some documents and give us some orders on...stuff."

Rachel closed her eyes and thought to herself for a few seconds. After a few seconds of awkward silence, (at least to Fanny), the blonde let out a little chuckle. "So I'm done."

"Wha-"

"I'm done." She smiled as she stood up. "No one's trying to blow us to bits, paperwork is taken care of, and it's the weekend! Everyone's going home." Rachel hand dropped below her desk, and pulled back up a small black bag. "So I'm calling it a day."

"But...but..." Fanny didn't know what to think. "Can you do that?"

"Geez, it's only noon. You guys can survive without me for the rest of the day can't you?" Rachel muttered with an eye roll.

"But where are ye going?"

"Hmm." Rachel stopped to think for a moment. Slowly, her lips curled into a smirk and her eyes gleamed with an emotion Fanny had never seen in Rachel's eyes before. It jarred her extremely. "I think I owe my boyfriend a visit." She turned to Fanny, that...odd look still there. "What? Is that going to be a problem for you?"

"Not at all." Fanny eveningly answered. She didn't know what was going on with Rachel, but it just didn't feel right to her. Or maybe it was because she was dating that stupid Numbuh 1. She was too confused at the moment. "But before ya go to yer... _boyfriend_, any final orders?"

"Not really." Rachel answered. She paused in her stepped and her brown eyes flicked to the door to her private quarters. "Oh yeah, don't let anyone go in there." She then continued to the exit. "I've got to clean out the mess later."

Fanny glanced at the door then at Rachel again. "But what if some sector complains over the 'Help-Me!' Hotline?"

"You like yelling at things, don't you?" And without looking back, Rachel left the room, intending to leave the moonbase.

At the bottom of the stairs of the Commander's Deck, Patton passed through the metal doorway, not even admiring the cool whooshing noise it made. One of the cadets had shown a high mark on the espionage and he needed to speak with Rachel about it, since she technically was still in charge of Covert Operations.

However, before he could even start up the endless stairway, he glanced to the side to see quite the sight. There, buried under a pile of papers was a groaning Herbert. His helmet had rolled off to the side, his glasses were crooked, and his perfect pocket protector was ruined.

Patton paused, thinking of the best way to delicately to approach the situa- "What the heck happened to you?" So much for subtlety.

Herbert raised his fist and smiled a dizzy smile. "I got a promotion." His head then fell to floor, completely wiped out.

The drill sergeant just shook his head. "That's why I don't work in Zero Gravity." Suddenly the sound of footsteps entered his hearing and he looked up only to see Rachel walking down. "Numbuh 362, m'am!" He stated loudly, tensing into attention with a sharp salute.

"Lighten up, commando." The blonde joked as she walked right past him, not sparing him a glance.

Patton's eyes widened and he slumped in confusion. What just happened? But Rachel sure as heck wasn't going to answer, she just kept walking out. Laughing a bit at Herbert as she passed him. All Patton could say was that something weird was certainly going on.

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**-Transmission Interrupted.**

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**I hope that was long enough for ya. What can I say? I like to tell a story. May have not been the story many of you wanted updated, but I'm working on it.**

**Was Rachel OOC? If not...I need to try harder. Curious? Wait and see.**

**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.**

**Later. **


	4. Sector V's Erratic Wuv Time

**Transmission Interrupted... Please Standby.**

…**Processing... Processing...**

**Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.

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"...and that's why we are banned from Peppy Pepper's Pizza Parlor. For _life_." Nigel muttered from his podium within the conference room of the Sector V treehouse. His hand reached behind his ear to flick a drip of water away while he glared at his pilot. "So I hope you're satisfied, Numbuh 2."

"What?" The boy sheepishly asked as the other three gave him their own looks from his sides. He tugged at his collar of his fresh shirt while nervously chuckling. "I just wanted to adjust a few circuits to make the animatronics' movements less clunky. How was _I_ supposed to know they'd explode?" He froze as Wally began to growl at his left, and slid away only to run into a towel whip. "YEOW!"

"Serves you right." Abby snipped as she recoiled her red towel and wrapped around hair, still damp from the shower. She let out a random shiver as she relaxed into the couch. "Numbuh 5 had cheese in places she didn't even know she had!"

The five ticular kids of the franchise had just returned from a successful mission, even though it didn't feel like it. The Six Gum Gang had stolen the dairies of several officials from the Student Board and were plotting to use them as blackmail material. But even with numerical odds in their favor, the sticky six were outmatched by the formidable five.

So to celebrate their win, improving Student Board relations, and the oncoming weekend, the team had decided to pig out at the most talked about pizza joint in town. Sadly, the party went downhill rather quickly. Kuki went crazy over the rare rainbow monkey in the vending machine, Wally had a _disagreement _with the waiter, and Nigel began talking of conspiracy theories when he found out a lesser known villain, Nogoodnik, was the assistant manager. Still, despite all this, they were somehow able to get past all that and their pizza got to their table. The celebration had been saved.

But the final nail in the coffin that ruined it was Hoagie tinkering with the age old animatronics system; somehow causing a massive explosion which sent hot ingredients flying everywhere. Finally fed up with the kids' antics, management threw them out of the remains of the building and banned them for two lifetimes. Just to be safe. So after a greasy ride in the C.O.O.L.B.U.S, and a nice thorough shower, Nigel had decided to use the extra time they now had to brief the rest of the team on updated news from Global Command.

He waited for Hoagie to settle back down before looked down at his papers. Clearing his throat, his accent rattled out. "In related events, the recreational trip to California has been postponed due the School Board changing the dates of our winter break. We will be notified if this changes again."

"Question." Hoagie spoke again as he rose his hand. "Is Operation: C.H.I.N.A still on? Numbuh 2x4 says he needs to give his team a definite answer soon. And we're gonna need those engineers if we want to convert the Great Wall into a water slide."

"Sector C has reported possible problems with the military that might get in the way, but other then that, we're just waiting for clearance."

"We can't wait for long." Hoagie added as he leaned into his seat. "The warm weather they've been having over there won't last."

"I'll see what I can do." Nigel assured his friend before he moved on to wrap things off. "That's pretty much everything. We have the weekend off so no big assignments to worry about." As he finished saying that, Kuki's hand suddenly shot into the air and waved around frantically. The Brit groaned as he pinched the bridge of is nose. "And for the last time, Numbuh 3, I am not making it an official mission to find your missing rainbow monkey!"

"Oh PLEASE! We have to find her!" The girl begged as her damp hair frayed about. "My Wubzie Wuv Time Rainbow Monkey is just a baby! She just got off the production line last week, and now she's out there. Alone. Cold, scared and not getting her amounted hugs!" She suddenly gasped as her mind went rampant with ideas. "With if she was kidnapped by another secret deserted model like RAMON. Or worse, stolen by a crazy maniac who gets sick pleasure off of little girls' dolls!"

"That is _sick_ and _wrong_!" Wally shouted from beside Abby, utterly creeped out by Kuki's theory. "Besides, ya probably lost it under that mountain of cruddy dolls ya have in yer room."

"If she wasn't in her organized shelf spot, then she's not in my room!" Kuki fussed at the Aussie before giving Hoagie a pitiful look. "You have to help me Numbuh 2! Make it a big crime scene case or something!"

The pilot gave an apologetic look. "Sorry, Numbuh 3. My fedora's at the dry cleaner's." It was his only excuse, and a logical one. Because it was all in the hat. His eyes flickered towards Wally, before patting the Asian on the shoulder. "And Numbuh 4 does have a point. Maybe you misplaced it. It's possible with all the dolls you collect."

"But I have a system..."

"Not every system is perfect, girl." Abby added lightly to conversation. "It wouldn't hurt to look right? Sometimes things end up where ya least expect 'em."

Kuki looked from all three operatives seated on the couch before she finally gave in to their advice with a smile. "You guys are right! She probably got buried under Mr. Egghead." She then happily hopped from her seat and skipped to the door at the other end of the room. "I'm coming Wubzie!"

Nigel looked back at the door and watched as the cheerful girl left them. Once it closed behind her, he lowered his shades and gave the blond at the couch a stern glare. "Okay Numbuh 4, where is it?"

"Where's what?" Wally blinked confused, and looked around him to see Hoagie and Abby were glaring at him as well. The boy narrowed his gaze and crossed his arms into his orange sleeve. "What are ya starin' at me for? I didn't do nuthin!"

"Drop the act, Wally." Hoagie spoke as he peered down at the boy. "We know you did something to Numbuh 3's doll."

"WHAT?" Wally asked, being overly dramatic. "You can't prove- I mean, how can ya even suggest such a thing?" He then let out something similar to a scoff as he leaned back as if hurt. "I am astalled sir!"

"First off, it's _appalled_ not astalled, Mister Webster." Abby butted in, rolling her eyes. "And secondly, whenever one of Numbuh 3's rainbow monkeys goes 'missing', you always have somethin' ta do wit it."

"That's bias!" Wally tried to defend, using a word he remembered the teacher saying that one time. "Why is it every time one of her rainbow dorkies disappears, I'm the one gettin' blamed for it? I don't think I loike all these accusations without evidence. I'm innocent 'till proven guilty!"

Abby's look sharpened. "What did you do?"

"I didn't mean to!" The boy caved as he began to panic. "It wasn't loike I did it on propose. It c-coulda happened ta anyone!"

"What happened?"

"I...I..." He then fiddled with the strings of his hoodie as he tried to think of the best way to put the situation. Finally cracking under pressure, he let it all out in a rushed blab. "I threw it in the incinerator!"

Nigel and Abby gaped in unison. "YOU THREW IT IN THE INCINERATOR?"

"By accident!"

Hoagie stared blankly at his friend. Seemingly lost for words. After a moment to get his thoughts together, he asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "How, in the world, do you throw a rainbow monkey in an incinerator by _accident_?"

"It was garbage day," The blond started. "and it was my turn ta take out the trash. I went 'round everyone's room, got their stuff and I guess I picked it up by mistake. I tried ta stop it from burnin', but the thing just kept_ smiling_ at me. Do you know how scary that is?" Suddenly he blinked then grinned as he started motioning his hands around excitedly. "But it was so cool! It just kept gettin' bigger and bigger-er until, BWOSH! Heh, heh. And did'ja know their eyes make this neat poppin' sound when they-"

"NUMBUH 4!"

"R-Roight! I'm sorry!" He hastily apologized when Nigel's shout jarred him from his memory. His hand quickly moved to grip at his messy hair and his eyes shifted in fear. "But you guys _cannot_ tell 'er I did it!" Just the thought of being on the receiving end of Kuki's anger was enough to make any sane person wet themselves.

Hoagie and Nigel were about to say otherwise, but Abby surprisingly agreed with the blond. "You're right Numbuh 4. We ain't gonna tell Numbuh 3 anything." But before the boy could voice his extreme gratitude the african-american snapped her finger out. "_You_ are!"

"Are you, NUTS? She'd kill me!"

"And with good reason." Nigel spoke as he hopped down from his podium to the others. "You fried her rainbow monkey!"

"What was that?" Kuki asked innocently as her head popped out of the door.

"N-Nothing!" Hoagie quickly answered as he and the others froze. They waited for the the bubbly girl's reaction and breathed a collective sigh of relief once she disappeared. "How does she do that?" The pilot questioned to himself.

Once he figured it was safe, Nigel turned back to Wally. "You did...what you did, and you can't avoid it forever."

"Sure I can." He proposed to everyone, only to flinch when Abby towel whipped him. "OW!"

"No you can't, fool!"

"Why can't I? She'll just forget about it sooner or later and buy a new one! If we don't eva talk about it, she'll neva know."

"That ain't right and you know it." Abby sternly scolded as she readjusted her towel. "You know how Numbuh 3 gets when it comes to these things. She'll find out eventually and it'd be best to let her hear it from you then someone else."

Wally's brows knitted under his fringe. He then glanced up to the taller girl, slight anger and fear mixed into one look only he could pull off. "You wouldn't..."

"Numbuh 5 wouldn't, but ya never know with people in this treehouse." She responded, sparing a side glance to the Brit and pilot out of the corner of her eye. The two looked offended and were about to protest, but stopped short when a low noise began to hum through the air.

The four glanced out the large windows when the sounds of a flying aircraft became louder and louder. Suddenly, the shape of a S.C.A.M.P.E.R came bursting out of the cloud cover, but the object was moving so rapidly it was hard to be sure. The operatives tensed as it got closer to their treehouse, not lowing in velocity in the slightest. Getting suspicious, Nigel snapped towards Hoagie. "Numbuh 2, I want details now!"

"On it!" The chubby boy affirmed as he expertly jumped into his seat by the computer. He glanced at the radar while one hand moved to activate the defenses. But he halted his finger's movement once he re-read the information. "Uh, scans are reading it as friendly, chief." He lifted his goggles to make sure he was seeing it right. "_Very_ friendly. Like, 'someone from Global Command is on-board' type friendly."

Nigel's expression filled with bewilderment as he processed that. "Then why aren't they-" His question was interrupted as the carrier changed course at the last moment and pulled up, it's thrusters scraping the glass of the conference room. They then let down their guard, figuring the worst had passed.

However, the kids could not get a break for the flying vehicle made a thunderous crash from somewhere above them. They cringed and winced with every bang and clatter. They could hear the vehicle dragging against the deck and then toppled to the floor when it collided with something that caused the whole treehouse to quake. From their positions on the floor, they snapped their gaze upwards when something crashed through the ceiling. And old airplane wing came down and stopped an inch away from Wally's face. When it stopped, the blond could only lay there dumbfounded at how close that sharp looking end was from impaling his face.

Once the tremors had calmed, Nigel reached for his fallen specs as he stood. He looked around to see Abby trying to her towel out of her eyes and Wally crawling away from the wing that tried to spear him. "Any damage, Numbuh 2?" He asked as he dusted off his crimson turtleneck.

Hoagie climbed back into his chair he had fallen out of and twisted his aviator hat back into a frontward position. Once stable, he looked back to his leader and gave a thumbs up. "I'm okay."

"Speak for ya'self!" Wally raged as he stood up. He then pointed to the fallen wing and looked about ready to attack it. "That piece o'crud tried ta kill me!"

Abby had finally won her struggle with her towel and threw the annoying wet cloth to the floor; her frizzy ebony hair flowing wildly. Her gaze trailed to Hoagie, and she let out an stressed groan. "He was talkin' bout the treehouse, Einstein."

"Oh." Hoagie muttered a tad flustered as he immediately turned back to the computer. His posture slackened slightly once he noted nothing serious. "No real casualties aside from the obvious." He reported while glancing at the wing in the ceiling. The lights suddenly flickered a bit before returning to normal. "I think the hamsters were spooked though." He then became focused on typing through, quickly summarizing any important details. "Other then that the only thing we really have to worry about is where ever they decided to land, and that's gonna be a disaster area."

Nigel frowned as he stepped up and overlooked Hoagie's shoulder. "And where would that be, exactly?"

"Probably nowhere important if the alert didn't sound." Hoagie muttering uncaring, but he worked on nonetheless due to the Brit's scolding expression. "Looks like they docked in..." Slowly his face paled as his pupils bulged behind his goggles. "T-The Hanger..." He whispered in horror."

"The Hanger?" Wally asked as he scratched his head. Made sense, that a plane would try and aim for the hanger. But then he suddenly remembered why the hanger was so important. "Wait, isn't the hanger-"

"MY ROOM!" Hoagie shrieked in fear as leapt up. The boy pushed by Nigel and dashed through the room at surprisingly high speeds. The door opened and Kuki came walking out. She opened her mouth to say something, but Hoagie bum rushed her to get by. "Gangway!"

The Asian peered behind her as her teammate disappeared down the corridor. Her small brows lowered, and she huffed as her arms crossed. "Looks like someone couldn't hold it."

Nigel sighed at how everything seemed to be falling apart. First they get caught in a cheese explosion, kicked out of a pizza joint, find out a rainbow monkey got cremated, and now some idiot had crashed into their treehouse. He bet normal kids didn't have to deal with all this. "Did you want something, Numbuh 3?"

Kuki blinked as Nigel addressed her. "Well, Wubzie Wuv Time Rainbow Monkey wasn't under Mr. Egghead, so I'm gonna go see if Mushi has her. Then if she's not there, I need to check if I left her at the pizza parlor." She then reached behind her and pulled out an outrageously long list. "Or maybe I left her at the cowboy gang's hideout. Oh, where could she be?"

Nigel face-palmed as the girl went on and on about where her rainbow monkey could be. He idly wondered if the incinerator was mentioned anywhere on the list, but he didn't voice it. He looked over to Abby who gave him a sympathetic shrug. "As that all?" He tiredly asked, wondering what else could go wrong before noon.

"Um-hm." Kuki nodded while reading her list. Suddenly her face light up as she suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Your girlfriend's here." She stated nonchalantly as an afterthought. It wasn't that important.

To her at least.

"G-Girlfriend!" Nigel exclaimed as he shades nearly slipped off his face. What the heck was Rachel doing here so unexpectedly? He then got even more fretful when he realized that she must have been the one who was in the vehicle that crashed. Without saying another word, the Brit took off in the same direction Hoagie had not a moment ago.

Kuki watched as her leader went by, and leaned forwards to look down the long hall. "Geez, it's gonna be a long line at the bathroom."

Abby just rose an eyebrow while Wally sneered. "Man, why does Lizzie always hafta break something when she comes ova?" He let the question sit for a while, but after a few moments, his anger was replaced with confusion. "Wait, I thought they broke up?"

"They did." Abby answered as she began walking in the general direction of the Hanger. Once she passed Kuki, she gripped the Asian's oversized sleeve and dragged her along. "C'mon girl. You can leave once we've dealt wit dis."

"But my rainbow monkey!"

"It ain't going anywhere." Abby then grimaced as she recalled it was probably ashes by now. "Not that it could."

"What?"

"Nothing!"

Wally watched as the two girls left behind the door, leaving him in the room. He scratched his head in confusion then finally growled as he quickly followed along. "Then who the heck is he dating then?"

After a few minutes of sprinting and turns, the members of sector V finally exited the door to the hanger bay. The five went in with stoic faces, but those hard expressions fell apart once they viewed the state of the pilot's main loft. Hoagie was the first one to violently react, since all of his majorly important stuff was located here.

"M-My room..." He mumbled in shock. The floor was completely totaled where the vehicle scraped along, and the bin he kept his recyclables in was destroyed, ergo trash had been spewed to every single corner. "My lab." Indeed, even his lab had fell victim to the unexpected crash. The wing that had apparently been knocked loose had come from the leftover airplane built into the ceiling. The object fell and tore through half of his workshop; crushing all of his experiments. "MY C.O.O.L.B.U.S!" He panicked was he saw his pride and joy, or what was left of it. The fiend had ripped through it like butter, all that remained was lower and half and thrusters.

"This can't be happening." He uttered to himself, shaking his head in denial. The devastation almost brought tears to his eyes. It would take him a buhmillion years to repair everything. The only solace he could find was the relief that nothing irreplaceable had been lost.

Or had it?

"No!" He suddenly shouted, causing his four friends to jump. Hoagie then took off for the other end of the room, hoping to find something he prayed hadn't been ruined, but as he got closer to his destination, his hopes dimmed more and more. "Please be okay. Please be okay!" He chanted nonstop as he went over to his trashed terminal. Once he reached it, he got to his knees and furiously dug through the scrap.

The others joined him, but they were more concerned with what was lodged into the wall beside Hoagie. The vehicle that had crashed was indeed a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. The flying transport had barreled through the chubby boy's console, trashed it, and buried itself nicely in the wall. Nigel frowned and was about to order whoever was still in there to come out, but his voice could not overwhelm Hoagie's terrified scream.

"NOOOOO!" The boy cried as his friends surrounded him. They all looked on apprehensive, only to get more worried when he hunched over and began to sniffle. "No...no. I-It can't end like this. Not after everything we've been through!" He whispered hollowly to himself as he held whatever he was holding to his chest. "You can't just leave me like this! There's still so much we haven't done!"

The others looked at each other, wondering what they should do. Finally, Abby decided to step up and try and quell the boy. "Uh, it's alright, baby." She nervously calmed, feeling awkward at how he was bawling. "Everything'll be okay."

"Okay?" Hoagie blankly repeated. "Okay." He said again, this time with more agitation and emotion. Finally he reared on her, glaring and tears pooling in his goggles. "DOES _THIS _LOOK _OKAY_ TO YOU?" He raged as he held up the source of his despair. Gently gripped between two of his pudgy fingers was the remains of a Yipper card. Only a small corner of the once great treading card had survived while the rest had been burned away by the cruel mistress that is fate. "Things will never be okay again! My Yipper card is gone!"

As soon as she saw that, Abby stepped away from the boy; a snarl present on her features. "_That's_ what you're cryin' about? One of yo' stupid nerdy trading cards!"

"It's not a stupid trading card!" Hoagie wailed again as he hugged the remains. "It was _my_ card. The first one I got. Yipper Number 115 won me so many battles, always pulled through no matter what! Don't stand there and try to understand the bond we had because you never will!"

Abby threw her hands in the air and walked back over the Nigel. "Numbuh 5 can't believe dis!"

"Did you say, Number 115?" Wally calmly asked as he slowly walked forth. "_The _Number 115? The one that buffs up all yer defenses by 4 and triplifies the damage of all aerial based attacks?"

"The very same." Hoagie brokenly muttered. "With it, I was able to pull off an impossible combo and win the nationals. B-But n-now..." He couldn't finish his sentence, and leaned into Wally as the Aussie came up and patted his back in comfort. "It's not fair!"

"I know mate." Wally sniffled himself, understanding what the poor boy was going through. "Ya can borrow mine if ya loike."

Kuki shook her head and leaned over to whisper to Abby. "Boys sure do act crazy over their collectibles don't they?" The spy's eyes trailed to the Asian in disbelief, while Kuki herself stood on her tip-toes and looked around. "Hey Numbuh 2, was my rainbow monkey over there?" Abby could only put a hand to her forehead.

"If you all are done, then can we get back to the matter at hand?" Nigel annoyingly asked as everyone turned their attention to him. "In case it slipped your minds, then let me remind you that there is S.C.A.M.P.E.R RAMMED INTO OUR WALL!" He vented pointing at the smoking vehicle. "And someone is still in there!"

"Who do they think they are?" Hoagie angrily asked as he jumped up and glared at the wreckage. "Just who? What sort of ugly, inhumane monster would do such a thing-"

Hoagie's insults died in his throat when the pod bay doors of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R fell off and clattered to the floor. Once the smoke cleared, a dazed Rachel stumbled out of the vehicle. "No need to worry, I'm okay!" She confusedly uttered as she fell out onto the floor. "Barely." She mumbled into the deck.

Worried, Nigel rushed to the fallen blonde and gently flipped her over. Using a moment, he took in her appearance. Her golden locks were in messy tangles and her usual orange stripped sweater had uncountable amounts of small rips on it. She must have had a wild ride. Nigel took a hand out, and prodded around her face to check her for injuries. "Rachel, are you alright?" When he spoke, the girl groaned as her lids fluttered open, revealing her coca pupils.

Normally, Nigel would love to see those glowing orbs, but this time was different. As he gazed into her eyes, something seemed...off. His brows furrowed as he tried to get a better look. "Rach-"

"STUPID MACHINE!" The blonde surprisingly raged as she jumped back up. Her fist clenched as she sneered at the S.C.A.M.P.E.R, and her foot reared back to deliver a sharp kick to the hull, leaving a small dent. "A cardboard box could fly better then this piece of junk!"

The Brit blinked at Rachel's rare display of anger. Sure, he'd seen her upset, but never like this. He then surmised that she must have had a rough week at the moonbase. It was probable given the stress of the job. Not wanting to anger her any further, Nigel went into professional mode and snapped off a salute. "Attention on deck!" At those words, Abby, Kuki, and Wally straightened and went into similar postures as their leader. Nigel's eyes trailed behind his shades to see everyone saluting, all except Hoagie, who was glaring at Rachel slightly. "I said, Attention. On. Deck." Nigel grounded out.

"Yea, yeah." Hoagie grumbled as he went into a sloppy salute even though he didn't want to. How could he show respect to a Yipper murderer? At the thought f his card, he gave another light sniffle.

Rachel herself jumped when she heard Numbuh 1 call out. She spun around to see all of sector V standing like statues and giving her salutes. But her eyes were mostly centered on the sector leader himself. _'Ah, there he is.'_ She thought to herself. Her hidden grin then fell away once she noticed everyone was still just standing there. "What is this? An ROTC class?" She asked bemusedly as she waved them off. "You guys can chill."

"Thank you!" Wally breathed out as he slouched, shaking his hand to get feeling back into it.

Nigel lowered his hand and folded his hands behind his back. "Greetings, Numbuh 362." He welcomed once things had calmed down. As much as they did around here anyway. "You didn't say you were coming and your arrival is a big surprise. Emphasis on big." He mused as he eyes flicked over to the wrecked S.C.A.M.P.E.R. "May I asked what happened?"

The blonde looked over to her smoking ride herself and then around the ruined room. "Whoa, I did some damage, huh?" She then turned to Nigel with a light shrug. "Sorry."

"Sorry? SORRY!" Hoagie finally exploded as he held up his Yipper card. "Your dilapidated flying trashed my room, my inventions, and most of all, my Yipper Number 115! And all you can say is that you're _sorry_?" The boy was never on to yell, especially at the Supreme Leader. But when his cards where factored in, then look out.

"It's not my fault!" Rachel defended herself as she yelled right back. "It was either that or let the buggy auto pilot land me in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!"

"Numbuh 2, show Numbuh 362 some respect!" Nigel reprimanded. The chubby boy folded his arms and mumbled while Nigel turned back the supreme commander. "I apologize for him, but he does have a point. You did crash right in his room."

Rachel groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Geez, I said I was sorry. If it makes you happy I'll send some people down from the moonbase to fix it later."

Nigel rose a brow at the girl's seemingly odd behavior. "I guess." He then dropped the formal manner and tried to figure out what was going on. "Are you alright, Rachel?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"You seem...different." He said as he tried to make eye contact. "That and you're usually not that bad of a pilot."

"I'm not?" She asked confused as her eyes looked anywhere but Nigel. "Well uh, I guess it's because I haven't needed to fly myself any where in while." She put out hoping he would buy that. When she saw his mouth moving to form another question, she beat him to it. "But how do I seem different?"

"Well," Nigel started. "you're acting very...odd for some reason. Is something bothering you? Whatever it is, you know you can talk to me about it right?"

"How sweet of you." Rachel playful smirked. "But if I'm acting different, then it's only because I'm taking your advice."

That confused the boy even more. "My advice?"

"Yea. That I should loosen up a bit." She proclaimed as she stretched. "I thought about it, and you were right. I'm _way_ too uptight about my job. I need to relax a little. Stop trying to satisfy everyone and have a little me-time."

Nigel opened his mouth to protest, but closed it after he recalled the memory. He did say that. But it was in passing and he didn't think she would take it to heart like this. Then again, Rachel was a girl and he still didn't fully understand how they take things. More then likely never will. But if she was trying to change herself he would stick by her. He just hoped it was for the better. But with the way she was acting, it was still in question. "So what will you do now?"

"Thought I would take the weekend off." She started while waltzing closer to the Brit. "Maybe go somewhere with you."

Even though they were already an item, Nigel couldn't help but feel flustered with the blonde's sudden advances. Kuki's gushes from behind didn't really benefit his situation either. "With me?"

"Yes." Rachel grinned as she fluttered her lashes cutely. "It's what boyfriends do, right?"

"Uh, yes." Nigel agreed as he regained some semblance of control. He then looked around the collapsing hanger and tried to have her wait a bit. "But maybe we should wait until later. I mean we have to clean up this-"

"Nonsense, your team can handle it." Rachel waved off as she grabbed his hand. "Besides, I already have our whole day planned out."

After a few minutes of being dragged, Nigel finally gave in and fell in step with the strange girl. He glanced over his shoulder to give his friends a sympathetic look, and felt slightly better when they didn't seem to mind that much. Or least it's what they appeared to be. As he exited the door, he spared a glance at Rachel out of the corner of his eye. Still not shaking the weird vibes he was getting. "If you insist." He uttered, a little perturbed at how fast this seemed to be moving.

"Oh, I do." She confidently spoke as she gave the Brit her own once over. Hidden by her bangs, her lips curled into a small smirk. _'Not bad. Not bad at all.'_ She mused as she analyzed Nigel's figure, liking what she saw. _'He has that air of confidence. Strong command, and a backbone. Much more appealing.'_ She leaned into the Brit more and her hold bordered on possessive. _'This certainly changes things.'_ She then grinned, as her grip on Nigel tightened. "I do indeed, Nigel."

As she watched them leave, Kuki couldn't help but comment on them. "Oh, that's so cute. I'm glad he's with someone who can take his big bossy butt." She giggly responded. She then turned to look at Abby, Wally, and the still brooding Hoagie, and pulled out her list again. "Well, I've got a lot of places to check if I'm gonna find Wubzie!" She then turned to the opposite door and left to find her missing doll.

Wally stood silent for a moment as he sized up everything's that happened. Finally, he just snorted. "Man, why does all this weird stuff always happen at _our_ treehouse?" He then folded his arms and kicked at the floor. "It's loike we're in some cruddy cartoon."

Abby reached into her pocket as she looked around the room. After analyzing everything, Abby capped her hat and turned to leave. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but Numbuh 5 is going home." She then made it to the door and gave a backwards me. "Holla if ya need me."

Wally looked at the retreating back of the spy in disbelief. "Then what the heck am I supposed ta do?"

He then jumped as a broom was placed in his hands and he looked up to see Hoagie carrying a dustpan. The pilot put and a dust mask and stoically stared. "Make yourself useful."

**-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-**

**-Transmission Interrupted.**

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**Not much to say. Just another chapter from me. As always, I would love to hear what you think about this so far.**

**Later.**


	5. Rising Suspicion, and the Oldest Book

**Transmission Interrupted... Please Standby.**

…**Processing... Processing...**

**Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.

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**

"Joey! Get back 'ere!" Aly Beatles groaned in slight annoyance as she chased her youngest around the living room. Her feet suddenly halted on the shaggy carpet as her ears picked up a noise behind the couch. Moving ever so carefully, she positioned her body over the blue furniture and peeked over the side just in time to see the wild blond toddler trying to crawl away. Smirking like the maternal predator she was, her hands quickly zipped down and snatched the boy up before he knew what hit him. "Gotcha!" She cheered as she toted the naked boy over to the diaper changing table. When the tike started to increase his struggles, she sighed in exasperation. "Aw sweetie, why do ya hafta put up such a scuffle?"

It was typical Saturday at her abode. Wally had took off sometime after breakfast to convene with his mates at that treehouse as he tended to do on weekends, and her husband had been called into the office by Mr. Boss to begin some new project. Something about erasing the minds of those kiddy brats or whatever. She never did care for what that greedy cigar smoking dill was scheming. He provided her Darrel's paycheck, and that's as far as the relationship went in her eyes.

Shaking off those thoughts, the woman of the Beatles household returned her focus on the task at hand. Even while laid back, Joey was still squirming, which made it that much more difficult to put the clean white diaper on. After a moment of planning, she sneaked a finger to his tummy, lightly wiggling to gauge a reaction. It worked, for while the cute blond was busy giggling, she moved with lightening reflexes to apply just enough baby powder, and wrapped the diaper around his private areas with out further delay.

"All bettah." She happily cooed as she gently picked her son up. Joey himself was stunned at how fast she moved. Then after a brief silence, he let loose a small sneeze as some of the powder tickled the rims of his nostrils. Aly just used her shirt to wipe at the boy's nose, then walked over to his playpen and gently lowered him in. "There ya go ma lil dingo." Her hand then reached to one of his trinkets, and passed him a boomerang shaped teething toy. "Now please keep this one on. For mama?" After conveying a pleading look, she then retreated to the other side of the room to start on some other work. Joey just looked to his mother, then grumpily crossed his arms as he mildly chewed on the toy.

As Aly bent over to pick up her cleaning supplies, her form filled with confusion as her eyes trailed over to glass door leading to the backyard. Outside, a small dirt blond haired boy was slowly wandering to the door. As he got closer, she could make out his facial freckles, and his brown sweater. When he finally reached the sliding doors, he turned and let his body slump down the glass. Obviously tired for some reason. Curious as to what the child was doing in her yard, the blonde woman motioned over the the sliding door and prepared to open it.

Outside on the patio, the blond boy was busy sighing and picking grains of sand out his hair. "That could've gone better." The boy, who appeared to be Harvey, groaned as he rested against the glass door. His eyes trailed over the lawn, then rolled up towards his hairline. "Aw man, I lost my helmet." He murmured before shaking his head. "Ah, no time for that. I have to find her before it's too-WAAH!" He screamed in surprise. The door that was supporting his back seemingly disappeared, and with nothing to hold him back, he fell to the floor. He moaned as he sat up, but as soon as he opened his lids, he met the confused pupils of Aly.

"Can I help ya?"

"GAH!" Harvey yelped as he hopped to his feet. Without wasting a second, his hand whipped out a small blaster out of nowhere and trained it at the adult's head. "FREEZE!"

Aly said nothing as one of her brows rose in suspicion. Her eyes analyzed the weapon in the boy's hand, and suddenly deduced it as one of those toy things her son and his mates played with. "Oh you mus' be one of Wallabee's mates from that club." Her hand rose to tap at her chin as she racked her memory. "What did he call it? Kids Next Door?"

Harvey lowered his weapon as his eyes narrowed. "Kids Next...! Oh yes! Kids Next Door." Harvey exclaimed as he remembered where he was. He then stowed the blaster away and folded his hand behind his back. "Sorry bout that. You see, I'm here on a very important assignment, and I'm a little frantic. Any information you could supply would be most helpful."

Aly looked down at the small child and smiled a bit. She figured it wouldn't hurt to play along. "Ask away, sweetie."

"Uh, yes." Harvey uttered as he coughed into his hand. "I'm looking for a girl, my sister. She's about yay high, hair pigment a shade lighter then mine. And she wears this orange tiger stripped sweater." He explained as his hands waved about for emphasis. "Have you seen anyone like that pass by recently?"

As she processed is description, the woman frowned in sorrow when it didn't ring any bells. "Sorry hon, those don't sound lioke any of the sheilas ma son hangs around with."

"Darn." The boy mumbled to himself. His face then light with realization as he recalled something else. "She may be with the bald leader of Sector V. A boy wearing sunglasses that goes by the codename of Numbuh 1? Or Nigel Uno?" He pressed, hoping that would point him in the right direction. He needed to find them quickly!

This time, Aly had the opposite reaction then before. "The lil pommy boy? Oh yes, he's one of Wally's best mates. I haven't seen him lately, but I'm bloody sure ya can find him at that treehouse."

Harvey nodded while plotting to himself. _'It's a start, but I have to move fast.'_ A look of determination crossed his features and he looked up to Aly to ask one last question. "Can you tell me where Sector V's treehouse is located?"

"Roight on the other end of the neighborhood." She answered as she pointed off into the distance, the canopy of a colossal tree visible on the horizon. "It's a quite a few clicks, but ya can't miss it."

Harvey followed her finger, and gulped when he noticed how far off the Sector looked. It sure would take him a while to get there. Even at his full pace. But he hid his emotions away, and immediately took off to the treehouse. "Thanks!" He yelled out in gratitude as he vaulted himself over the Beatles' fence.

Aly watched the boy as he preformed daring feats of athleticism as he trekked the backyard of the other houses. She then just shook her head as she slowly slid the door shut. "These tikes today." She muttered as she prepared to continue with housework. However before she could start, a diaper flew right into face causing her to stumble. She peeled the object off her face, and watched on stunned as her blond baby stood up in his playpen dancing. Naked...again "Joey!"

While the mother went to attend to her child, Harvey hopped over another fence and landed on the sidewalk in a crouch. As he stood up, he looked on to the treehouse in the distance and clenched his fists. "You're not getting away this time." He growled to himself as he took off. Intending to find his sister and/or Nigel. Which ever came first. But little did he know as he started on his journey along the backstreets towards the tree deeper into the neighborhood, was that the very couple he was searching for had already left the suburb for the depths of town.

* * *

"Uh..." A skinny teen waiter started as he stood beside the table Nigel and Rachel were seated. He carefully watched the scene before him completely transfixed. It was so raw, sick, and disgusting. But he just could not for the love of him turn away. "Will she be...done after this?" A hand fled to cover his mouth in order to keep his launch down. Oh lord, he never thought he would feel sorry for a cheeseburger.

Nigel himself seemed to be handling it better. But of course that was only because he had years of training under his belt and he had been places that only existed in some people's fantasies. So he had seen some pretty gruesome things. But this was...new. A small wet crumble of food flew through the air and landed on the void like lens of his shades. He slowly trailed a finger to his eye wear and flicked the particle away. "I'm not sure."

After making a grand entrance by crash landing into his sector's hanger, Rachel had surprisingly dragged him along into town to spend the afternoon together. He really didn't mind, seeing as it was the first of their dates as a couple and he had the weekend off. It was just her strange behavior that was taking him by storm. Take now for instance. One of the first things they agreed to do was to find a decent place to eat. She had only eaten breakfast at the moonbase this morning and Hoagie had destroyed the pizza parlor before he could indulge in his cheesy slice. So they headed into a small eatery in the market centre. They served kids, the food was of good quality, and he didn't have to spend much due to the menu's low prices.

At least, he thought he wasn't going to spend much.

Nigel looked on unblinkingly as his blonde girlfriend just inhaled everything placed in front of her. Her fingers grasped a handful of french fries and crammed them into her mouth. Before chewing, she would rip open packets of ketchup then proceed to squirt the condiment in with the fries. Her teeth atrociously grounded the combination together before swallowing in one large gulp. Not wasting another second, her eyes ravishingly roamed over her second burger before throwing caution to the wind and tearing into it. Lettuce and tomato bits spewing everywhere.

The Brit paled a bit at Rachel's rather disturbing performance. He couldn't ever recall seeing her this hungry. She just went at her order like a starved homeless person. His finger lowered to fiddle with his remaining fry while his eyes trailed around the room hoping no one else was seeing this. Sadly, it would not be so. The waiter apparently could not bare to watch anymore so he had turned away with his skin a light shade of green. The other patrons' reaction were far less appealing. Some families looked on in horror at the blonde; some mothers covering their kids' eyes. Others pretended they didn't notice, but that fraction was few and even they would sneak dirty looks over when they thought they weren't paying attention. Then there were the people who would just up and leave. They huffed as they turned their noses upwards and strutted past them with an air of superiority.

Nigel rolled his eyes at them. Ignoring them for the most part. But even as it passed, he couldn't help but find himself wondering. Wondering what was up with Rachel. Her excuse was that she had just decided to take his advice and lighten up some. But there was a fine difference between lightening up and just being rude. And as hard as it was to admit, she was leaning towards the later at this point.

He snapped out of his musings when he noticed Rachel flicking the lid off her drink and chugging the liquid down like it was nothing. He found his jaw unhinging a bit, and after a few moments, she slammed the cup down empty. Nothing left inside but the ice. He then looked down at her tray and found out she had finished; the only things remaining were crumbs, wrapping paper, and other assortments of trash. She had some decency to use her napkin to clean the rim of her mouth, but any manners she had were blown away by the obnoxious belch she let loose.

"Ah, that hit the spot." She sighed contently as her hand reached for her cup. When her lips met nothing but cold ice, she spared the waiter a dry look. "Hey teenager, refills are free right?" She bluntly asked. When the boy nodded, she snapped her fingers. "Then chop-chop! I'm not tipping you just to stand there."

The boy had enough of a backbone to growl and glare at the girl, but he gripped the cup and went to refill it nonetheless. He was already in it deep enough with a manager, and he needed this job. But still, "I don't get paid enough for this." He grumbled as he pushed through the door to the back.

Nigel silently watched as the guy went to do his job. After he disappeared, he turned to give Rachel a skeptic look. "Now I hate teens as much as the next kid, but do you think that was necessary?" He just knew something was off if he was defending teenagers.

Rachel only gave him a shrug as she went to lazily play with her hair again. "We're the _Kids_ Next Door, Nigel. I stop caring after they hit thirteen." Her brown pupils trailed from the Brit down to his unfinished meal. "You gonna eat that?"

Nigel lowered his gaze to his half eaten meatball sub. It was his favorite type of sandwich, but Rachel had an unsatisfiable hunger for some reason. "If you want it-"

"Oh no, you go on and finish it." Rachel politely spoke with a warm smile. "I probably just ate out the entire kitchen. And besides, you deserve it since you're paying for all this." She finished with a cute bat of the eyelashes.

"Alright." Nigel smiled back as he took another bite of his sub. It was weird. Every time he was about to pry into her odd attitude, she would show him why he was with her in the first place. Her thoughtful words, and cute looks were enough to deter him from his suspicions. After another mouthful, he looked down at her messy tray again. "What's with your large appetite anyway?"

"Oh it feels like I haven't eaten in _weeks_." She moaned as she slumped in her chair. "Heh. I wouldn't doubt that either. I've been trapped in that ce- I-I mean, uh, office so long you know?" She nervously giggled as she fanned her face, and tugged at her collar. "Sorry, it's just a little hot in here for me. I think I might just take this darn sweater off." She covered as he moved her hands to tug her trademark clothing off.

Nigel looked away with a slight blush as Rachel pulled her sweater off. He then shook his head at his silliness and faced her to see her tying the arms of her sweater around the waist of her light blue t-shirt. "Don't they feed you guys up there? I hear Numbuh 3-Servings has great specials."

"Yeah, but only on a special day. His regular lunches might as well be moon rocks." She rattled off. Suddenly she narrowed her orbs as she second guessed what she just said. "No, that's not right. A moon rock doesn't leave a chalky aftertaste on your tongue." She then pushed her tray away in order to make room to lay her head down. It would give her a chance to rest while the operative before finished his meal. That, and it gave her a better look at him. _'Ah, that's nice.'_ She thought with a smirk as she trailed over his figure. Oh he was much more attractive then that sniveling coward. And she didn't even have to force him to do anything. It was like he lived to make her happy. That certainly was an unexpected bonus.

But as her eyes looked down, she paid a small notice to her watch. Her pupils then widened slightly as she realized how much time had already passed. _'Aw man, it won't be that much longer now.'_ She thought dejectedly as she remembered the program she installed on the moonbase before she left. She would need to get back there soon to attend to it. Then there was that other thing. _'But I wanted more time with Nigel.'_ She hadn't planned for it to be this way. But she wasn't expecting him to be this alluring. He was quite the fine catch, and if she kept it up, it wouldn't be long before she had him wrapped around her finger. She would have had him all to herself.

And that thought sounded oh so appealing.

_'But there's no way he would stay with me after he found out.'_ She growled to herself as she thought of planned events. She wanted Nigel, but she wouldn't get him. Which was no fair! She always got what she wanted! After a moment, Rachel forced her ire down as she thought it out rationally. _'Guess it was fun while it lasted.'_ She sighed as she looked towards the Brit once more. That sly grin returned once more, and her eyes hooded as she figured she had some time left. "But a short walk wouldn't hurt."

"Huh?"

"A walk." Rachel purposed again as she hopped out of her seat. She then wandered over to Nigel, and yanked him down from his chair right when he was about to take another bite. Before he could protest, her arm tangled around his own, and she leaned into him making all sorts of unnecessary body contact. "A nice stroll with just the two of us and no little annoyances in the way." She smoothly cooed, making sure to lace her fingers with his. "That sounds like a great stress killer, doesn't it?"

Nigel melted under her words, and her closeness had an extreme effect as well. "It sure does." He dolled out, seemingly in a blissful trance. A moment of peace alone with Rachel sounded wonderful to his ears. But then the effect was lessened as he felt her grip on him tighten. He rose a brow as he looked over to her, but all she did in response was give a vixen like smirk and turn her eyes away before he could make contact. Those troubling thoughts returned, and he found it harder to shake them this time. It seemed to more she 'lightened up', her hold on him seemed to get tighter. Rachel seemed to be acting...possessive of him.

It just didn't feel right.

The couple made their way out of the establishment, much to the relief of the remaining customers. They didn't think they could hold their lunches any longer. But after a few uneventful minutes, the teen that had served Nigel and Rachel returned with a cup full of soda and his manager giving him an earfull.

"And dat's why ya gotta make sure ta change the sugar filter! How many times do I hafta pound it in ya head, Johnny?" The man fussed as he made a show of knocking his knuckles against the teen's head.

"I'll keep it mind, boss." The guy grounded out as he went to set the cup down at the table. But as he neared it, his eyes widened in disbelief when he realized the kids were gone. "HEY! They left without paying!" He raged.

However, the manager seemed more calm about the situation. He spared a glance to the mess, and just decided to let the night guy handle it. "Eh, don't sweat it kid." He patted the kid on the back as he went outside for a smoking break. "I'll jus' take outta yer paycheck."

Johnny smiled, seeing as he wasn't getting yelled at. But his boss' words meant nothing to him until it finally hit him when he was in the kitchen. "WHAT?"

_CRASH!_

"You wanna pay for the whole joint right now, Johnny?"

_

* * *

_

"Numbuh 383! I don't care what ye situation is!" Fanny screamed at the Sector M leader while she was stationing Rachel's post at the Global Command centre. The blonde had left her in charge of the 'Help Me!' Hotline, and Sector G needed assistance, and Sector M was in the area. But the Italian boy just wasn't willing to cooperate. "You backup Sector G, AND YOU BACK 'EM UP NOW! YE UNDERSTAND? THAT'S AN ORDER!"

"_We ain't gonna be backin' up anyone if we're underwater, capire?_" The wet sector leader fussed back as he waded through a pool of water visible on screen. The boy then hefted up an oversized wrench and turned his red cap backwards. "_We got us some major plumbin' problems, and if we don't fix it, our treehouse is gonna be floating all the way to __Venezia!_"

Fanny growled at how the _boy_ was just brushing her off like she was nothing. He was lucky she wasn't there in person! "I don't care! Either get out yer swim trunks or-" But before she could complete her rant, something exploded behind Numbuh 383 and the water level around him rose rapidly. Then another voice screamed out something.

"_THE GREEN PIPE JUST EXPLODED!_"

"_MAMA MIA!_" Numbuh 383 exclaimed. He then sucked in all the air he could, puffed out his cheeks, and dove under the water with the wrench before he cut the transmission. Fanny just stood there stunned. He just tuned her out. Hung up on her and disobeyed her orders. The color of her face slowly boiled to a simmering red, her teeth grounded against one another, and she felt about ready to explode herself. Finally, she let it all out as she screamed and kicked at the main console.

"STOOPID STOOPID BOY!" She raged, absolutely livid. "I HOPE HE CHOKES ON A MUSHROOM PIZZA!" She bellowed once more, trying to get a grip on her anger.

Behind her, Patton stood stoically at parade rest monitoring the situation with a bit more control. After Rachel just up and left, things around the base started to pick up unexpectedly. Complains suddenly piled in about Numbuh 65.3's sudden and undeserving promotion and how he was trying to boss everyone around. Evening threatening with decommissioning at one point. Then there was a new candy uprising in Berlin with some local groups waging war over that Heinrich boy's (or girl if Sector V's report was factual) empty position in the Sweet Market. Sector G had been sent in, but overwhelmed, and Sector M was having issues of their own.

And with the operatives still running around needing all sorts of help from the absent Supreme Leader, everything was pretty much hectic more or less.

The Arctic Commander watched Fanny's tantrum with some light amusement. He wouldn't admit, but she looked cute when she was angry. But he kept that little tidbit of information to himself. When she finished stomping, he rose an eyebrow and prepared his retort. "Very professional, 86."

"Shut it." She lowly graveled out, sending light shivers down his spine. She then turned and lowered her hand as she held a hand to it. "With all that's goin' on, can't ye not bother me for jus' this once?" She somewhat pleaded, but with her heated voice, it was hard to pick up.

But Patton noticed it, and found his expression softening a bit. She wouldn't say it, but he knew this sudden pressure Rachel had dropped on her was getting to her. He frowned as he thought of the blonde. Something didn't seem right with her. But that would have to wait until he assisted the red head in front of him. "Fan-"

"Numbuh 86!" The two of them snapped their gazes to the right to see Herbert waltzing up to them. He still had that air of smugness about him, and it was already ticking an angry Fanny off. "Numbuh 86, as new Extra Important Boss Guy of Paperwork," he flaunted with a fake title he crowned himself with. "_I _am ordering _you_ to fill out these sheets concerning the Decommissioning Squad's recent capture of Operatives 884, 219, .67, 967, and 27." He confidently proclaimed with a smug smirk. He was important now!

Fanny resisted the urge to deck him the face for even _thinking_ he could boss her around. "You best be dropping yer uppity attitude, boy, before I knock it off! I don't have time for mangy papers! I got an entire base ta run here!" She then stomped up to his face and gave her best growl without any effort. "And since yer tiny male mind forgot, let me remind ye that you can't order around your GLOBAL TACTICAL OFFICER!"

Herbert flinched when she roared at him, but held his ground. The Supreme Leader made him a boss! "Be that as it may, 86, you're forgetting that Numbuh 362 herself put me in charge of all things paperwork related. And since you're still the unofficial Head of Decommissioning, you have to do what I say because the Supreme Leader said so!"

"Ya wanna know what I hafta say you fat-"

"Numbuh 65.3," Patton interrupted before things got ugly. He didn't need to make up another cover story for Fanny injuring a boy. "I think it'd be best if you just head on home, soldier. Everyone else is going on leave and we don't need you up here on the front lines for now." He then leaned in a little close as his eyes shifted. "And between you and me, I'd think you should leave for your better health."

"My better health?"

"You think all these commanding officers and M.U.S.K.E.T. toting cadets will take lightly to being pushed around by a nerd?"

At his explanation, Herbert slowly gazed around the deck to all the other people he had ordered in the last hour or so. Everyone was sending him death threats with their eyes, glaring at him with grins as they patted their rifles. And he nearly wet himself when a girl manning a terminal lifted up a M.A.R.B.L.E with his numbuh carved into it. He gulped, but still wasn't completely. "W-Well they may hate me, but if for their own-"

"You're either leaving by shuttle or by airlock. NOW GET OUT BEFORE I CHOSE FOR YOU!" Fanny snapped, her threat being enough to hit home and send the chubby boy packing. Wanting to end the madness before she lost it, Fanny stepped up on Rachel's podium to send everyone else home for the weekend. "If yer not doing anything important, then get your butts off this base right-"

"Numbuh 86!" A boy suddenly ran up to her taking by surprise. "Numbuh 9090 broke the door lock on Deck Eighteen!"

Fanny stuttered before she tried to respond. "Then go fix-"

"Numbuh 86!" This time a girl cried, tears in her eyes as she held up her hand. "I gotta boo-boo!"

"I-It'll be alright lass, just let me-"

"Numbuh 86!" Another operative whined, and more were starting to come over as well. "We still need you to decide whether me or Numbuh 498 gets the last piece of gum!"

"That's not impor-"

"Numbuh 86! Why did you put Numbuh Sweet 16 in charge of cleanup detail! You know she never does it right!"

"I thought that-"

"Numbuh 86! I've been calling you about the situation with Sector G for the last five minutes! Why haven't you been responding?"

"I-I-"

"Numbuh 86! Where's Numbuh 362? We need someone who actually knows what they're doing!"

"Yeah! Why did she leave you in charge? You always try to run us boys out!"

"Numbuh 86!"

"Numbuh 86!"

"NUMBUH 86!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Fanny broke down as she huddled to the floor. Why oh why did Rachel leave her in charge of these whiners? She just couldn't take all this right now. "I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN!"

Patton saw Fanny hold her head, and frowned. He decided to take matters into his own hands and settle the problems all at once. Pushing through the mass of kids hording around Fanny, he stepped up onto Rachel's platform and prepared to shout in his loudest command voice possible.

"ATTEN-_HUT!_" He rocketed out, his booming voice echoing all across the moonbase itself. All the operatives still there snapped to attention, and their hands shot up left and right in salutes. His cold eyes trailed over them all, and once he had let them sit enough, he gave out his order. "Now listen up, maggots! I want Elite Squads 4 through 6 to dispatch immediately and provide assistance to Sector G on the double! As for the rest of you ingrates, Global Command is hereby closed for the rest of the weekend! So unless you have clearance, or working on the cure for cancer, I want you all of you off of this moonbase by 1700 hours! Do I make myself clear?"

"SIR YES SIR!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"_SIR YES SIR!"_

"DISMISSED!" He bellowed out. As soon as the words left his cavity, every single operative scrambled to exit the deck immediately. After a brief minute, the only operatives left in the room were Patton and Fanny...and the janitor. The driller sergeant slapped his forehead as he leaned over the railing. "Hey you! I ordered everyone to go home!"

The tanned girl looked up and shook her head as she reached into her cleaning cart. "I...I clean." She mumbled as she began spraying down computers.

"That's alright kid, your services won't be-"

"No...I..no." She continue to utter as she worked on regardless.

Patton just sighed as he turned back to Fanny who was just standing up. The red gave him a level look, before she glanced down and rubbed at her arms. "Thanks...I guess. But I coulda handled it!"

Patton only gave a quick smirk. "Sure ya could've." He then frowned as he recalled how they got to this situation. "Though I can't blame ya for cracking under pressure. It was kinda surprising how Numbuh 362 dropped the bomb on ya." He then narrowed his eyes as he thought how Rachel acted. "She usually gives more notice before she leaves."

"Yea? Well she's been 'kinda surprising' ever since I found her." Fanny grumbled as she adjusted her helmet. "She lazes in her office fer two hours, goes through operatives' personal files for fun, gives 65.3 a promotion jus' ta get out of paperwork, and then she ups and leaves to hang out with her _boyfriend._" She spat out in disgust. "Eck!"

"That really doesn't sound like Rachel." Patton stated as his eyes trailed the blonde's terminal. "She was acting weird, and I only saw it in passing. Something's up."

Fanny let the thought float around in her head for a moment, then her eyes widened as she jumped to a startling conclusion. "Ye don't think she becoming more like a teenager is she?"

"It's way off before any of us turn thirteen, Fanny." Patton dissuaded. "I think something else is going on. Tell me, how did she act when you were around her."

"Weren't you listening?" Fanny annoyingly groaned. Why was she asking? He was a boy. Of course he wasn't listening.

"I know what you've already told me. I was talking about anything else!"

"The only other thing that seemed strange was that she almost took 65.3's head off when he tried to dump paperwork off in her private quarters!"

Patton's eyes widened, figuring she was on to something. "Why? What's in there?"

"She didn't say. Only said something about cleaning up the mess. Whatever that's supposed ta mean." She then looked towards the snow capped boy, and frowned when she recognized that twinkle in his eyes. "What are ye plotting, Eskimo?"

"I'm just wondering what's Rachel's got in her office."

"Well stop wondering! She ordered me not ta let anyone go in there."

"Then she's hiding something." He pointed out. When he saw her resolve falter, he pressed harder. "Oh come on Fulbright. You _know_ something's wrong with Rachel. And as her friends, we need to help her out."

"And you think something in that room will be helpful?"

Patton nodded, a dead serious look in his eyes. "I bet my granddad's medal of honor on it."

Fanny tsked her lips. If the boy was willing to place his most prized procession on the line, then he must have known what he was doing. Finally, she sighed hoping he was right for once. "Fine! But if you're wrong, then you'll be the one taking the fall, boy!" The operative only nodded, and followed his flaming red headed companion up to the tippy top of the moonbase to get to the bottom of Rachel's behavior.

* * *

Back on Earth, the blonde in question was enjoying the last few minutes of her date with the Brit. Rachel had yet to relinquish her hold on Nigel, and he didn't mind. At least on he outside. But any worries he might have had about the girl had fluttered out of his mind when she asked him to tell her about one of his many missions. And he was currently indulging the giggling Supreme Leader about one of his more humorous romps.

"Ha ha ha! I can't believe it." Rachel laughed while Nigel held a playful smile. Her laughter quelled to slight giggles as she maintained control of herself. "So you're telling me he created the perfect one, and he didn't even know it?"

"Exactly." Nigel answered, feeling good about reminiscing one of his more out-there missions. Even more so now that he had the chance to share it with Rachel. "I had just finished testing it, and right when I was about to tell him, my team busted in and took me because they thought he had stolen my brain." He explain while shaking his head in good nature.

"Wow." Rachel got out while holding her ribs. "You're team must be a real gaggle of idiots." She laughed.

However, Nigel was not. "Hey now! They were just worried for me."

"I know but, what sort of moron actually believes a college would be harvesting brains?" She mocked the absurdity of the notion. "I mean if they're _that_ thick in the upstairs apartment-"

"They would have never got in the way if I hadn't put the idea in their heads." He defended without directly telling her _he_ had believed the college was collecting brains. He didn't want Rachel thinking he was an idiot. But he also didn't want her bad talking his friends. "I watch my team's butts, and they watch mine. Sure, not all of them may be geniuses, but they more then make up for it in skill and loyalty."

"Fine, I'm sorry." Rachel huffed as she blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. "You need to chill and learn how to take a joke, Nigel."

"Okay, that's it." Nigel firmly spoke as he forced them to stop. He managed to pry his arm loose from the blonde and held her shoulders as he tried to look into her eyes. "Rachel, what's wrong with you today? This isn't like you."

When she noticed he was trying to make eye contact, he sheepishly glued her orbs to the pavement. She couldn't risk him finding out by gazing into her. Not if those rumors were true. "There's nothing wrong with me. I'm just relaxing like you said I should!"

"There's a difference between relaxing, and acting like a jerk." He frowned as he lowered his hands. Suddenly, his coal blue pupils widened as he realized what was going on. "Wait...I get it now."

"W-What!" Rachel jumped as she heard that. No! Not now! "It's not true! I'm-"

"You're upset with me!"

"...Say wha?"

"It's about what I said isn't it?" He asked as his eyes filled with concern. "About being too uptight? You've been acting out like this to teach me a lesson, haven't you?"

Rachel blinked a few times before lowering her head. "Y-Yes. I'm sorry Nigel." She apologized. "It's just that...what you said made me really second guess who I am and all."

"I didn't mean it like that Rachel." He replied with sincerity as he clasped her hand. "It's just that I worry sometimes y'know? I know I get stressed out by being a Sector Leader, but you're the Supreme Leader. If you overwork yourself you could snap!"

She chuckled at that. "This coming from a workaholic."

He rolled his eyes. Why did everyone have to call him that? "Then I should know what I'm talking about." He muttered. Right when he was about to cross his arms, Rachel sprang up and wrapped herself around him.

"Thanks for worrying about me Nigel." She softly uttered into his ear before she laid a peck on his cheek. "You're such a great boyfriend." She dreamily cooed as she buried her head in his shoulder.

Nigel put his arms up around the blonde and returned the gesture. "And you're a great girlfriend, Rachel." Finally, this whole thing could be over now.

_'Too bad it's all gonna end shortly.'_ Rachel internally groaned as her eyes bored holes into the store in front of her. It just wasn't fair. She had finally found her perfect match. A strong committed leader, wouldn't hesitate to blow his whole allowance on her, took her anywhere she desired, and actually was concerned for her well being. This was the kind of guy she deserved! Yet she would have to let him go soon. But then her eyes stopped as she read over on of the posters in the store window. She looked from the add, to Nigel and a devious expression crossed her features naturally. _'Or maybe it doesn't have to.'_

"You're so sweet, Nigel." She bubbly exclaimed as she stepped back off of him. "And to show how grateful I am for you, how about you stay out here whilst I go in and fetch you something for change?" She asked motioning to the store behind him.

The Brit looked over his shoulder to the retell store, and lowered his sunglasses to read over the title. "That's quite alright, Rach. I don't need any fancy-"

"Nonsense!" She waved off as she started into the door. As she opened the door, she turned back to blow him a kiss. "I won't be long!" She sung out as she disappeared.

Nigel was then left alone on the street, nothing but the sound of the door's jingle to keep him company. He then sighed as he looked at the window himself. "She really didn't have to get anything. She knows I'm not a gift-getting kind of...EEEIEE!" He squealed in delight as he caught sight of one particular add. "No way! They have them in stock!" He giddily cheered. Why? For there stuck on the window was a special deal for items he had been searching everywhere for.

_New Visor Edition Sunglasses. Tints include, crimson, ebony, sliver, and chrome. Buy one, get one free!_

"Oh man, I didn't think these were anywhere in the city!" His mind stopped as he did the math in his head. The store having a sale on visor shades? Rachel wanting to buy him a gift in said store? "Aw, she shouldn't have." He gushed as he shuffled his foot to and fro. He was so lucky to have her.

"I need to act surprised." He coughed into his hand as he read the remaining adds. "It's the least I can do for her being so thoughtful...and...! WHAT IN BLAZES!" He shouted as he stopped on one store add. He flinched back in disgust, and snarled at the picture. He had too many accursed memories about that...that _thing. _"50% off on models of the Yes Dear 5000 _Boyfriend Helmet_? Are they mad!" He raged as he took in the mind control device. Because that's what all it was. One of these days, he was going to request to go on a personal mission to bring the creator into prison. "They still sell those things? Unbelievable!" He sneered as he turned away.

"I'm back!" Rachel beamed as she stepped out of the shop. "Line was a lot shorter then what I thought it would be."

"Oh?" Nigel instantly turned on her, his anger fading away the moment he saw her. He then rose his brow when he noticed a decent sized box in her hand. He didn't think sunglasses needed that much space. "Whatcha got there?"

"Oh just a little something just for you." She smiled as she tucked the box under her arm. "I think the box is a little big, but the gift wrap was free!"

The Brit smiled as he heard that. "Mind if I take a peek." He grinned as he made a grab for the box, only for his hands to meet with the air.

"Uh uh uh. It's a surprise for later."

"Oh c'mon!" Nigel pleaded as he pouted. "I thought it was a present for-"

_Beep! Beep!_

They both looked down surprised to see Rachel's wristwatch blinking. Suddenly the blonde's pupils shrunk and she panicked. "Oh no! I completely forgot!"

"Forgot about what?" Nigel questioned switching from childish to serious in two seconds flat. "What's wrong."

"Nigel, there was another reason I came to your treehouse." Rachel began to explain. It was time. Too bad, she was really enjoying herself. "You see, while on the moonbase, I gave the science team the go to upload a new security program to up our defenses. But there was a problem. There were old firewalls deep in the mainframe that marked the program as unknown and wouldn't let it through."

"What did you plan on doing about it?"

"The firewall almost totally wiped out my program, and I've been waiting all this time for it to reboot itself. Now that it's finished, all I need to do now is get through the firewall. But the security protocol is old. Old as in, this dates back to when the moonbase was first created."

"I understand, but why do you need my help?"

"Because only you have the information that could get us through the firewall." She then moved in the direction of the treehouse, and motioned for him to follow. "Hurry up! We have to do this quickly."

"Why did we wait until now?" Nigel asked as he fell in pace with her. "We could have taken care of this while we were at the treehouse!"

"I said I forgot! Crashing in a S.C.A.M.P.E.R tends to do that." She quickly thought up, hoping he would buy it. When he made no further protest, she grinned to herself. Everything was working out exactly how she wanted it. Suddenly she paled as she thought of a hindering factor. "Will your team still be there?"

"Our sector had the weekend off, so they've most likely went home by now. That is if they've cleaned up the mess." He then shook his head and turned to Rachel while they ran. "What do you need from me?"

"Like I said, this firewall dates back to when the moonbase was first created. So we're going to need that old of a document that has the codes to shut it down."

Nigel furrowed his brows as he thought of every possible thing he could have in his possession. Back to when the moonbase was created? What could he have that dated back to...His shades nearly slipped off. Of course. He was the new keeper of it after all! "You don't mean..."

"Oh yes I do." Rachel smirked. It was all coming together nicely. "I order to get those access codes, I'm gonna need the Book of KND."

**-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-**

**-Transmission Interrupted.

* * *

**

**Finally. This has been in progress for a while. Hope you enjoyed it. I want to get this done, but I don't and will not rush it. It's just that I've got so many exciting things plans for this lil KND universe I've spawned.**

**Anyway, I'm still here and still updating. Next thing might be CR, but this is nearing the end. Maybe two more chapters depending how much I write.**

**Later.**


	6. The Kiss Tells All

**Transmission Interrupted... Please Standby.**

…**Processing... Processing...**

**Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.

* * *

**

"Hnnngh!" A heaving Wally groaned as he tried to carry a heavy bag full of garbage to the nearby waste basket. Tried, being the keyword. Desperately in need of a breather, the blond grunted as he let the bulging sack drop. He panted as he took in the massive bag that was almost twice his size. After a moment, he just wiped the sweat gathering at his forehead and sent a subtle glare to the chubby pilot across the room. The only work he himself exercising being sweeping up patches of debris with a dust pan. "If this is _your_ room we're cleanin', the why am _I_ doin' all the heavy lifting?"

Hoagie paused long enough in his cleaning to lower his dust mask slightly and convey a potent frown. "Because I'm still in mourning!" The boy sniffed as he used a moment to compose himself. "Besides, just put that trash away and we'll get the guys to help us finish tomorrow.

Wally only rolled his eyes as he returned to his task. "Whateva." He mumbled as he tried to slide his palms under the bag. "I'm glad I didn't throw yer cruddy card in the incinerator." He'd much rather deal with Kuki trying to tear him apart then watch his mate brawl his eyes out nonstop. Wally then froze slightly as he rethought his last musing. "Wait, I think that's backwards…"

The Aussie and pilot were the only two children still loitering around in the treehouse. Nigel had been dragged on a date with his seemingly insane girlfriend (which brought forth a weird sense of déjà vu), Kuki had disappeared on a manhunt for her 'missing' rainbow monkey doll, and Abby decided she had seen enough craziness for one day and departed to go home. That only left him and Hoagie, who had forced him to assist with cleaning the wrecked hanger Rachel had left in her landing aftermath. Which was really ticking him off. Yipper Galactic Squadron was on, but he wouldn't dare mention that in front of a guy who just lost his first Yipper card. He wanted to get home sometime within the next hour after all.

So far they had made decent progress, which translates to 'good enough' in Wally's more simplistic mind. After gathering a decent pile of wreckage in the corner, they had used H.I.P.P.E.-H.O.P to tug the S.C.A.M.P.E.R out of the wall. After a hassling ordeal, which involved said S.C.A.M.P.E.R inadvertently smashing the bunny robot after it came loose, Hoagie just had them push that disaster to the side and settled on using the leftover scrap to rebuild his C.O.O.L.B.U.S later. It was at that point they just agreed to board up the huge hole in the wall and fix everything else another day since they were only just adding on to the mess. So then they pulled out the yellow tape, put up a perimeter around the totaled floor and jutting plank trail the S.C.A.M.P.E.R left in its wake, closed off Hoagie's lab, and planned on going home after Wally had stowed the last of the trash away.

"GEEZ!" Wally growled as the trash bag slipped from his hold. He jerked his foot back only mere seconds away from it being crashed. He then waved his hands about to sling off the grease that had seeped through the material. Yuck. His green pupils wandered to the ceiling and noticed the sun glittering through the leaves. Huh, the airplane used to cover that. At the thought of the junked wing, he glanced over to it and the hole it tore through to the command room. "How the crud are we gonna fix _that_?"

Hoagie looked over his shoulder as he put the dust pan away. "I'll put in a requisition order for a crane on Monday, or I'll just wait for our run to the junkyard next week. Maybe I can find stuff to build over it." He studied the wing, and a smile came about as his mind ran wild with ideas. "With the right measurements and a few sprockets, I can model it into that elevator I've always wanted."

Wally only rubbed his hands together as he made a second attempt to pick up the trash. "Yer just too lazy to use the stairs."

"Oh can it and take that stuff out!"

"What does it look loike I'm doin'?" Wally rattled as he grit his teeth. He looked at the huge bag in his hold, then to the waste basket all the way on the other end of the hanger. He moaned in exasperation. It would take him a gazillion years to get over there! The slight breeze tickling his cheek then drew his attention to the hanger's massive opening. He then peered over the side and squinted to see the trashcan on the streets below. He then made sure Hoagie wasn't looking, and innocently whistled as he tossed the trash over the side. The blond then gave off a smug grin as he dusted his hands off. "There, can we go now?"

Hoagie rose a brow as he looked towards Wally. Wondering how he expected him to believe the trash just disappeared into thin air. But then he settled on a shrug. He wanted to head on home and forget about the tragedies he had endured. "Sure, just let me get my card canister. I'm taking my chances with Tommy stealing 'em then leaving them here after what's-"

_PLOP-RRRRRRRRRIIIIIPPPPP!_

"GAH!"

The two jumped several meters in the air as the commotion took them by surprise. They peeked over the hanger's opening where Wally tossed the trash to hear the sound of a bag connecting with something, or rather someone, ripping apart, and the poor unsuspecting victim gasping in shock after he was hit. After a few minutes of attentive silence, a hand wobbly shot up and grasped the edge of the floor. The nails dug in for support as its twin soon joined. After a few grunts and groans, the irradiated face of dark blond boy appeared, and he glared at the two before him.

"You two are aware you can get fined for littering, right?" He smartly pointed out as he stood fully on the deck. His hands then moved to his head to brush off all the metal and scrap that had fallen from the bag. "You just don't appreciate proper headgear until its gone." He mumbled, missing how his helmet kept all the junk out of his hair.

Wally blinked a few times as he analyzed the boy, then frowned as he recognized him as Harvey. "Well if it isn't Mister Freakazoid. What's the matta? Your team kick ya out of yer treehouse so ya hafta come and snoop around ours?"

"And what's with the mountain climbing routine?" Hoagie questioned, just as much annoyed with the boy's present. He didn't hold the reputation as 'Most Hated Operative' for nothing. "The front door not good enough for ya?"

"I _tried_ the front door, but you two were apparently too busy to answer, and the security system kept trying to fry me every time I knocked!" He muttered, ignoring the innocent expressions on their faces. "I didn't have time to dilly-dally, so I climbed up here."

"Well, you're here," Hoagie idly pointed out. "So the faster you tell us what you want, the faster we can get rid of you."

"Wow, you guys would've made excellent Wal-Mart greeters." Harvey muttered before shaking his head. "Never mind. Look, I came here because I need your leader's assistance. This is a very urgent matter."

"Our _leader_ has a name." Wally spoke as he glared down the smaller operative. "So don't go insulting ma mate jus' cuz he's dating your sister."

"Dating my- No! You don't understand!" Harvey tried to explain. He was running out of time. "I just need to speak with him this instant!"

"Too late for that." Hoagie answered as he started to pack up. "He left a few hours ago with Numbuh 362."

"Then you need to get your team and help me find him! Him and Numbuh 362 are in danger!"

"Danger." Wally mockingly repeated. Having enough, he stomped over to the boy and lifted him by the scruff of his sweater. "Nice try, Harvey. But yer not breaking them up on my watch." He chuckled, proud he didn't let the boy dupe him. He then hoisted him over the edge, plotting on sending him back the way he came. "I hope ya took some flying lessons!"

Harvey paled as he felt a sicking feeling of vertigo pass through him. Did he mention heights terrified him? "N-No wait! That's just it! I'm not Harvey! At least _your_ Harvey. And the girl with Numbuh 1 right now is more then likely not _your_ Rachel!" He frantically explained, the threat of falling to his demise blogging his mind.

Hoagie paused as he swung on his backpack. He was going to just let Wally throw the boy over the side. He held no love for him, and he would be fine...Hopefully. But that little bit of information Harvey, or the boy who claimed _not_ to be Harvey, let slip started a theory in his mind. "Hold up, Numbuh 4." Hoagie called out. "What do you mean? When you said that girl wasn't 362?"

"Don't let his stupid mind tricks get to ya, Numbuh 2." Wally batted off, ignoring everything the little brat was saying. "This is Numbuh 363! You know how far he would go jus' ta pull one ova us."

"I have proof!" Not Harvey yelled out as his hand went behind his back. He then produced his blaster and quickly tossed it to Hoagie's feet. "You're the tech specialist right? Just analyze my weapon and try to tell me it's something the KND uses!"

Deciding to give the kid a break, Hoagie bent over and began looking over the blaster before the Aussie got impatient. "Hmm," The scientist in him uttered as he lifted up his goggles. He almost called it a M.U.S.K.E.T, but the color scheme was purple instead of yellow. "What is that? A Mark-X Horseradish chemical cartridge? We outlawed that after the Splinter Cell tried to use it to kill that one superintendent with the allergic reaction." He mumbled to himself as he opened the back of the blaster to check the inside. After he read the coding on the small label, he nearly dropped it in surprise. "T-This isn't KND! It's-"

"Exactly!" Not Harvey interrupted, ready to wet himself at the prospect of falling. "NOW LET ME GO!"

"Do as he says Numbuh 4." Hoagie seriously ordered. Wally blinked in confusion, but complied nonetheless. His hands released their grip on the clothing, and Not Harvey screamed as he was dropped over the side. The chubby pilot spluttered in shock as he watched the kid fall. "WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO?"

"Ya said let him go."

"I didn't mean..." Hoagie started, then shook his head as he turned to the door. "Ah forget it! We need to go get him and the girls then find Numbuh 1!" He quickly got out as he ran towards the stairs.

"What?" Wally asked completely lost. He then quickly hopped over the hole in the deck, and followed Hoagie out the treehouse. "Why?"

"Because if he's who he claims to be, then Numbuh 1 really _is_ in danger!"

* * *

Further down the street approaching the Sector V treehouse, Nigel and Rachel turned a corner before they stopped to catch their breath. Nigel lightly huffed as his girlfriend leaned against the fence. His blue eyes scanned the area under his specs, and his hand snapped up to point out his home. "There. Just right up ahead."

"Oh thank the lord!" Rachel exclaimed as she sat down the box containing Nigel's present. "Running a few miles out of town is not how I planned on ending this date."

"Neither did I," Nigel said as he decided they had rested enough. "But I didn't plan on having to get the Book of KND." He then lowered his shades as he watched Rachel stand up straighter. "Are you sure it will have the codes we need?"

"It has all the secrets of the organization and past operatives, right?" At the Brit's nod she smirked. "Then it should have all the information from when the Moonbase was created." She then turned away from the boy, and paled as she saw how high up the tree seemed to be from down here. She had to climb _that_? "Please tell me you guys have elevators."

"We won't need them." Nigel explained as they began to walk the rest of the way. "I don't keep the book out in the open where one of our enemies could get hold of it. It's locked up in the one place only I have access to; The Chamber of Coolness."

"Ah." Rachel uttered in acknowledgment. No wonder nobody had a clue where the book was. She didn't know this place he was describing even existed. She fell in step beside the boy, hoping to press for a little more. "So where is this chamber, exactly?"

"My dad unknowingly built over it when my family moved back from England. The only access point is through the secret entry in my room."

"Your room, eh?" Having a silent grin to herself, Rachel hopped ahead of the boy to the house, wanting to get the book as quickly as possible. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and get it before...!" She suddenly halted as she turned the corner. Her eyes widened and she jumped back behind the fence before they caught sight of her. "Crud." She hissed. What was _he_ doing here?

Running out of Nigel's backyard were three boys. A chubby one wearing an aviator cap with the number two marked on, and a short orange wearing blond. Numbuhs 2 and 4 if she remembered correctly. But her attention was solely focused on the short operative they were talking with. A bruised dirt blond with a pigment darker then her's. The brown sweater confirmed him as her oh so annoying little brother. Just great.

_'Of course he would follow me here. Always trying to get in my way.'_ The blonde heatedly thought to herself as her nails dug into the wood of the fence. She wasn't expecting him to respond to her absence so fast, but she concluded he must have moved so swiftly because he left his no good sector behind. She hated to admit it, but he worked better on his own. And by the way he was moving Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 4 along, he must have already informed them of the situation. Not good. This whole thing would be a bust if they got her now. She needed to get in, get that book, and get back to the moonbase before anything else came up. Now. But how was she supposed to get by them.

Her brows then rose as she watched the three of them nod. After saying something, Numbuh 2 started down the street motioning for the other two to follow. She grinned as she realized they were headed in the opposite direction of her destination. Sweet! All she needed to do now was just sit back a minute, and wait for them to get out of sight-

"Hey, why did you stop?" She tensed and quickly snapped her neck to see Nigel coming up behind her. The Brit's pace slowed as he neared, and his brows rose in confusion. "My house is right around the corner."

Rachel eyes shifted back towards Nigel's home, and she cursed when she realized the three weren't gone yet. If he saw them or vice-versa, then it was all over. She needed to think of something fast. "Uh..y-yeah. It's just that...that..." In her rushed state, her eyes trailed down to Nigel's lips and stayed there. After a few fleeting seconds, her eyes gleamed as a sly smirk curved up her own.

Nigel didn't notice Rachel's strange look at first and was about to walk past her. "Come on. If it's my mom you're worried about, then- H-HEY!" He stuttered as the blonde roughly pushed him against the fence. "What are you-MMPH!" Then he could say no more as Rachel silenced him with her lips. He stood there for a few seconds. Just letting it happen, and not really complaining about it either. He then let his lids drop and was about to respond, but stopped short when an odd feeling tingled up his spine. Sure, he had kissed Rachel in the time they've been an item. But something felt off this time. Something just felt...wrong somehow.

The blonde on the other hand didn't notice. She just let herself go and take what she wanted. And boy, was she glad she did. This felt so good, and she didn't want it to end either. _'Oh I'm looking forward to more of these.'_ She blissfully thought. Her lids opened a slit to peek, and looked over to the side for the main reason she had initiated the kiss. She then grinned slightly when she noticed that her brother and his nosy tag-alongs were no where to be found. She then returned her full attention to the stunned Nigel, gently pulling away and letting her lips linger a bit. "Enjoy that?" She whispered hotly, still a tad dazed herself.

"It was...something alright." Nigel posed carefully. As Rachel pulled away, he couldn't help but find himself critically analyzing her form. As if searching for some flaw that shouldn't be there. The boy just didn't know how to place it. Her odd behavior had been floating around heavily since she came to the treehouse. She had been rude and obnoxious to almost everyone. And now...he wasn't sure if she was just upset anymore.

"Rachel, be honest with me." He lightly replied as he put a hand on her shoulder, trying to make eye contact once again. "Are you _sure_ there's nothing wrong?" He then frowned as she let her bangs hide veil around her coca orbs. Why wouldn't she look him in the eye?

"I'm fine, Nigel. Don't you trust me?" She played, making her voice as soft and innocent as possible. Before he could form a response, she shrugged her hand off and moved towards his abode. "Look, there _are_ some other things going on. And I promise to explain them all once we get that book."

The boy stood back a bit. Intently watching her as she sauntered off. "Let's hope so." After composing himself, he met up with her and made his way past the front the door.

It didn't take them long to get to his room. His parents had left for the market some time ago, so he didn't have to deal with his mother's prodding or his dad's embarrassing implications. Nigel shut the door to his room and turned back to see Rachel gazing around. "Here we are."

"That's great." She muttered as she peered at the bookshelf. "But every title I've seen so far has lacked 'K', 'N', and 'D'." She grumbled getting impatient.

"That's because none of these is the one we need." Nigel spoke as he passed her for the other corner of his room. He then came to a stop in front of the tree that came down into the framework of the house. Without any delay, his hand rose up and he placed his palm firmly down on the bark. The square lit up, and seemingly scanned his hand. After a second, a section of the bark glowed then disappeared leaving a small passageway. The Brit then turned and motioned to the door with a smile. "After you." In her excitement, Rachel bowled past him and jumped on the slide to quickly recede down below. Nigel readjusted his shades, and followed her soon after.

"_Weeee_! OOF!" Rachel cheered, then grunted as her ride on the slide came to an end. She then sent Nigel a dry look as the boy came down with more finesse and style. "Showoff." She mumbled as he helped her to her feet. As she rubbed her sore elbows, she gaped in awe at the room they had landed in. "Whoa." She drawled out as she took in everything. The air in the room felt crisp and fresh, and the slight scent of wood chippings filtered in and out. The wall was littered with shelves of old 2x4 weapons, some of which had not been used. Then in the center of the room, a sparkling light shone down from an unknown source. Illuminating a round pedestal with nothing on it. "What is this place?"

"The Chamber of Coolness." Nigel proudly stated as he stepped forward with a smile. "A scared place inside the Tree of Coolness. It is said to have been created by the very first Kids Next Door operative, even before Numbuh 0 himself. It serves as a beacon to kids everywhere, and as long as it stands, no fear shall enter a child's heart as long-"

_CLANG!_

"AAHH!" Nigel yelped at the clatter. Rachel took cover behind him, and he aimed a small blaster he had hidden on his person. "W-Who ever you are, come out with your hands up now!"

"Oh hi, Numbuh 1!" Kuki cheerfully greeted as she popped out from behind the center pedestal. The green sweater wearing Asian then skipped to a random shelf in the room, and started lifting things up and looking under them. "Fancy meeting you here." She lightly commented while she searched.

"Numbuh 3?" Nigel asked bewildered as he lowered his weapon. Once realizing there was no threat, Rachel stepped out from behind the Brit as he frowned in confusion. "Numbuh 3, what are you doing in here?" His brows then leapt to his nonexistent hairline as another query reared its head. "_How_ did you get in here?" He was the only one who had access.

"I used DNA from the band-aid I put on your arm last week." She answered as she looked around, holding up a dirty heart themed band-aid as proof. She then turned and looked around the room as her hands went to her hips. "And I came in here to find Wubzie. She's still missing and this is the only part of the treehouse I haven't checked yet!" She huffed as she stomped her foot down. Where was that cute little thing hiding?

Nigel stared at the girl with a blank look. Mildly wondering _where_ she got a band-aid he could clearly recall throwing away last week. He then sighed as he prepared to break to her the fate of her rainbow monkey. "Numbuh 3, Wubzie is..." He then stopped for a moment, asking himself if he had the time to deal with her reaction. "Uh, never mind. Why did you think it would be _here_ of all places?"

"Well, I thought it would be a good idea to check places you've been since you're a closet fan." Her eyes then lit up as she suddenly remembered something. "By the way, why didn't you tell me you had the Crumpet Teatime Rainbow Monkey?" She asked as she pulled out a red rainbow monkey with a monocle and a plastic teacup in its hand. "It's _so_ adorable!" She gushed as she hugged the doll.

"I-It was a gift from Gram-Gram!" He defended as Rachel broke out into hysterics at his side. Trying to suppress the blush on his face, he walked up to Kuki and gently took the doll out of her hold. "Now Numbuh 3, I can assure you that your doll isn't in here."

"But I've looked everywhere! Where could she be?"

"Why don't ya go ask Numbuh 4?" He muttered to himself before shaking his head. "Look, can you just move along please? This is kinda important." He asked motioning to Rachel, who was still banging against the deck with taunting laughter.

Kuki blinked and looked from Nigel to the girl giggling on the floor. After a moment, her mind jumped to a conclusion, and a sly smile made itself known. "Oh I get it! You two need some alone time." She suggested while giving the Brit a light nudge. "Well why didn't you say so, silly?"

"W-WHAT? N-No! I didn't mean-"

"Oh don't worry I won't tell." She whispered before making a show of zipping her lips. She then lightly hummed as she made her way back to the stairway beside the slide, then turned to Nigel to give a goodbye wave. "You two lovebirds have fun, kay?" She then turned, and heaved a long sigh. "If only Wubzie were here to see this." She said to herself as she left. Maybe Abby would know where the doll was.

Nigel groaned as he sat his rainbow monkey to the side. He thought he hid that thing better. He then slowly gazed over to his girlfriend, who obviously still found his embarrassment hilarious. "Are you quite done?"

"Ha ha ha! I-I-Ah ha ha ha ha!" She continue to laugh as she stood up. After a few more minutes, her giggles quelled to light snickers. "Okay, all better." Nigel opened his mouth to say something, but Rachel suddenly began again. "Teatime! That's rich! Ha ha ha!"

"Rachel!"

"Oh I'm sorry, honey." She chuckled as she took his hand. She finally forced herself to calm down and waved her hand about. "Okay we've had enough fun. I really need that book now."

"Just stand back." Nigel exclaimed as he lowered his hand to another scanner. Once he stepped back, the center of the pedestal opened revealing another column of light. Slowly but surely, the platform containing the fabled Book of KND rose. Nigel watched on with some interest, only having seen this happen once before. But his mind was still contemplating something else. _'Honey?'_

But while he had seen this before, Rachel had not. She looked on with jumbling amounts of anticipation as the book rose from the depths; the letters of the title embroiled onto the cover. Her lips grew into a small smirk, which continued to enlarge ever so slightly as the bald kid walked up the steps of the pedestal and grasped the very thing she sought. She contained her impulses long enough for Nigel to walk back down to her and place the book into her hands.

Then Rachel just stared at it, not fully believing her fingers were tracing over the aged and worn hardback. She slowly opened the book to see if it was legit, and nearly gaped in awe at the mind boggling information in the first sentence. The blonde then flipped through the rest of the pages, even going on to where they were nothing but blanks. It was odd. The book itself appeared so thin, but it was stuffed with centuries worth of data and the blank pages seemed to stretch on forever in a never ending sequence.

After a moment to take it in, Rachel turned away from Nigel and began trekking back to the beginning pages. Grinning with devious intent when she found what she had been searching for. _'Finally!'_ She thought with a low chuckle. It may have taken forever, but she had gotten the thing at long last. And she had picked up some very interesting trinkets along the way. The girl then leaned down and picked up the box containing her gift for Nigel, her smirk never fading in the slightest. Within the next hour, she would have everything she desired and more. This day just kept getting better and better!

"Well we have the book," Nigel spoke up as he walked beside her. The girl faced him, and he couldn't help but feel unnerved at that smirk. "So what do we do now?"

"Hmm," Rachel mused, managing between carrying the box and reading through the Book of KND. After a huff, she just tossed the oversized present to the Brit. "Do you have a way to get to the moonbase from here?"

Nigel stumbled as the purple package was pushed into his hold. After recovering he answered Rachel's question. "Our S.C.A.M.P.E.R should get us there. That is if you didn't demolish it when you crashed yours." He then peeked down at the present, and carefully moved his hand to check inside, but he was caught red-handed as Rachel slammed the book down on it.

"Naughty little boy," She taunted with a slow wag of the finger. Her lids then hooded over as she giggled. "You'll get to open it when the time is right."

Nigel frowned as they started to walk again, and didn't bother to hide it. That odd feeling from before was back, and it did an excellent job of keeping him on edge. Something was definitely up with Rachel, and she wasn't talking. At least not yet. "And when will it be the right time then?"

"Soon, Nigel." Rachel lightly responded. She stopped and smirked once she reached a page where a kid began writing about a possible treehouse on the moon. "Very soon."

* * *

Stars above on the very lunar base itself, two operatives climbed up on the final step leading to the Supreme Leader's office. While they took a short break, Patton used his snow cap to wipe a bit of sweat away, and Fanny herself slumped on the railing, her poor little legs feeling like mushed up jello.

"Oh, ma aching feet." She groaned as she wiggled her ankle, just to make sure it was still working properly. The red head then spared a glance downwards, and paled at how they seemed to tower over everything else. Those stairs seemed to get longer and taller every day. "Maybe I'll actually listen ta Numbuh 2x4 next time he wants to talk about putting in an escalator."

"First time for everything, eh?" Patton rebuttaled as he tucked his messy locks back into his cap. Without missing a beat, he continued his vigorous pace to Rachel's office. "C'mon, Fulbright. Don't start slacking up now of all times."

_'How does he keep going?'_ Fanny questioned astonished. He just climbed an endless array of stairs and walked it off like it was nothing. But then she supposed he wasn't the Arctic Training Commander for nothing. Grunting, Fanny gathered herself as she jogged up to the driller. "First off, it's Global Tactical Officer Numbuh 86, to you! And second, don't think ye can order me around, BOY!" She growled as she poked him in the arm.

"Knock it off!" Patton grumbled as he slapped her hand away. They then stopped right at Rachel's door, and the arctic faring boy turned to glare at the girl. "Do you wanna stand here and complain, or do ya actually want to do something useful?"

"I'll start when you start, Eskimo!" Fanny shouted right back as she huffed and pointedly turned away. "Well? Are ya goin' in or not?"

Patton rolled his eyes as he motioned to the door with his arms. "Ladies first." He then arched his brow as a teasing smirk came about. "You _are_ a lady aren't you?" It was so hard to tell sometimes.

Fanny's eyes bugled before she seethed at the boy with clenched fists. "I AM a lady!" She vented. She then opened the door and entered, but not before 'accidentally' pushing Patton over.

The boy stared after the girl with a frown as he stood up. "Ya coulda fooled me." He muttered to himself as he followed her in. As he entered, he couldn't help but stand a bit taller. He was in the Supreme Leader's office after all, even though she wasn't in. "Nothing out of the ordinary in here … well, except that." He corrected himself as he looked towards Rachel's desk. Her cool spinning chair was toppled over, like no one had bothered to pick it up. Pens and pencils were carelessly tossed about on her desk. The file cabinet was open and the files inside looked as if someone had just tried to jam them all in. But despite all that, Patton couldn't find himself looking away from the overflowing wastebasket. "What in the Sam Hill passed by in here? A tornado?"

Fanny scoff. "I've seen tornadoes just 'pass by' and cause less damage. This was Rachel's, 'Spring Cleaning'."

Patton took another look and shook his head. "Other then the fact that it's not spring, this is totally out of character for her." He walked by the desk to inspect it and nearly flinched when the wastebasket finally fell over. "Rachel hates a dirty workplace more then she hates adults. Heck, she made me drop and give her twenty when she stopped by the Arctic Base and found the state of my office."

"Ya don't need to tell me twice." Fanny spoke up as she looked around herself. "This ain't like the lass at all. Ya shoulda seen the way she was actin' when she gave 65.3 that promotion." Her brows knitted together as her fingers rattled against the desk. "It's all Numbuh 1's fault I tell ya! Girls start actin' all weird and disgusting jus' ta impress their _boyfriends_. Eck! It makes me wanna blow chunks!" She gagged as she made noises with her mouth.

Patton popped up after he found nothing under Rachel's desk. "...Right. While that makes _perfect sense_, something tells me Rachel's problem is closer to home." As he said this, his eyes slowly trailed over to the door leading to the blonde's private quarters. "Like say, right beyond that door kind of close."

Fanny followed Patton's gaze, and found herself a bit nervous of going in there. Doing so would be going against the Supreme Leader's order, and while there were many things in question about Fanny, one certain fact that always rung true was that she _never_ went against her Supreme Leader's order. She even followed the suspicious Chad up until the moment he betrayed them. "Are ye sure we'll find something in there?"

"Oh come on, Fanny. I'm just as much a loyalist as you are, but even I think some rules need to be stretched when circumstances call for it."

"Since when?"

"Keh!" Patton scoffed as he crossed his arms. "Be it just like a girl to have no backbone." His eyes then widened as he felt himself being lifted into the air. "GAH!"

"I'LL SHOW YOU BACKBONE!" Fanny roared as her frame shook with rage. With the frightened boy in her grasp, she swung her arms back and threw Patton straight for door blocking Rachel's quarters. The sergeant screamed as he flew, until finally his body tore through the wood itself. As he disappeared inside, Fanny's rage fled as she watched the door shatter into tiny shards; as if it was made of ice. "Oh no! I broke the Supreme Leader's door!" She wasn't expecting that to happen! She then panicked, wondering how Rachel was going to kill her. "I-It was all Patton's idea. Yea! That'll-"

"FANNY!" Patton shouted from inside the room. "GET IN HERE NOW!"

"Wha...Oh! Right." Her regular ire returned, and she marched up to the door to give the boy a piece of her mind. "I hope ya found a good hiding place, BOY! Because I'm gonna make you pay fer- BRR!" The red head shivered as chilly blast of cold air slapped her form as she neared the doorway. "Geez that's cold! What did she do? Leave the air...on..." Her words fell short as she was filled with extreme shock as she entered the room. "What the heck?"

"Exactly." Patton seriously uttered from his place in the room. Fanny stepped up to him as she gazed around them in wonder. The temperature in Rachel's room was way below freezing, and with logical reason. Almost the entire room was encased in bone chilling ice. Patton gazed the room, and narrowed his eyes into slits as he analyzed it more deeply. "Looks like a struggle went on here."

"Huh?" Fanny muttered as she looked to where Patton was. He was right. The small counter Rachel kept in her room had been thrown to the opposite wall before it had froze over. The bed had been flipped over, and her shelf she kept all her pictures on was in splinters. "Musta been quite the hassle." The red head observed as she noticed Rachel's samurai Yield Sign lodged into the wall. The operative walked over to the destroyed shelf, and managed to chip a cracked photo frame off the floor. A picture of Rachel at her brother's graduation. "Who would attack her like this? In the moonbase no less?"

"That's a good question." Patton mused as his boots crunched against the frozen floor. He leaned down towards the floor, and dragged his finger across the ice. "Look at this. The ice spreads out in separate directions right here. Like a bomb went off." He suggested as he investigated the markings. "But how would someone get that past security. How would they get past security period?"

"Maybe this is why she didn't want us comin' in here." Fanny guessed. "She said it was a mess. Maybe she wanted ta clean up later."

"That doesn't add up though." Patton argued as he stood. "Why would she want to keep the fact she got attacked a secret?"

_THUMP! THUMP!_

"EEP!" The supposed fearless sergeant yelped as he stumbled backyards. He fell into Fanny's arms, and looked up sheepishly to her annoyed growl. "We uh, can keep that to ourselves, right?"

Fanny said nothing for a moment, then smirked. "Sure." She then leaned in close, much to the boy's surprise, then let him fall the rest of the way to the floor. "Why not?"

"Ha ha. Very funny." Patton groaned as he stood back up. He then looked around the room listening out for the strange noise again. "But did you hear that?"

_THUMP!_

"Yes." Fanny answered after hearing it again. She then looked over to the closet, and narrowed her eyes. "It's comin' from in there." The two moved closer to the closet door, only to realize it had been frozen over like everything else they had seen so far. Every so often, something from the inside would thrash against the door, but having no luck in breaking through due to the thick ice. "What...should we do."

"We better let who ever is in there out." Patton spoke up as whatever it was banged against the door again. "And we better hurry. It sounds they're getting weaker." He rose his foot against the ice, and found it more durable then he expected. "We do this together, got it?"

"Fine." Fanny agreed as he hoisted her leg back. "On three. One...two..."

"Three!" Patton finished. Both of their legs moved in perfect sync, and slammed down on the ice barricaded closet with amazing force. The frozen door broke away on impact, and soon after, a body came tumbling out.

"MMPH!"

"AHH!" Fanny screamed as it toppled over on her. She slapped her hands around in panic as she tried to shoo the thing away. "Get it off! Get it off!"

"Fanny calm down!" Patton quelled as he lifted the body off of her. He then looked down at the person he picked up and did a double take in shock. "R-Rachel?"

"Wha?" Fanny uttered confused. She then leaned up and slowly took in the person. "Numbuh 362?" Indeed it was the blonde Supreme Leader. Looking worse for wear, the girl was bound and gagged by a piece of cloth that cloaked the bottom half of her face. Her golden tinted locks were in frizzles, her hair sticking out wildly and small ice clumps matting up her bangs. She had been stripped down to her light blue t-shirt and a thin layer of pants. Patton could feel her cold skin through his gloves. Her hands were tied together behind her back, and her legs themselves were covered in a sheet of ice to keep them from moving. Her chocolate pupils had dimmed in their shine, but they raged on with a combination of exhaustion and fury.

"Rachel," Fanny tested as she lowered the cloth around her mouth. "Is...is that you, lass?"

"Of course it's me!" Rachel rasped out in a throaty voice. Icy mist fluttered around her lips as she spoke and she despised it. "I've been trapped in that closet for hours!"

Despite the circumstances, Patton couldn't resist. "So, you just came out of the closet?"

Rachel's glare snapped to Patton, who in turned flinched at the maliciousness behind it. "Hurt him." She weakly ordered Fanny, who obeyed without question. The boy dropped the blonde as the red head's punch sent him sailing, which caused Rachel to hit the cold deck with a groan. "Now untie me!" She ordered, her voice a bit louder then before.

"I jus' don't get it, m'am." Fanny mumbled as she undid the ropes keeping the blonde's hands together. "How can ya be here? Ye jus' left the moonbase a while ago."

"Because that wasn't _me_!" Rachel growled as she got feeling back into her wrists. She tried to stand, only to stumble when she realized her legs were still frozen. "Do you guys mind?" She heatedly asked motioning to her stiff legs.

Patton walked back to them, rubbing his sore chin with a moan. He then studied Rachel's legs, and got an idea. "Hey 86, you wouldn't happen to have a S.P.I.C.E.R would ya?"

"...Yes." Fanny carefully answered as she tossed him the pepper spraying blaster. Her gaze then turned skeptic when she saw the snow capped boy aiming the weapon at Rachel's feet. "What are ya doin'?"

"Don't worry. I use this trick on cadets who complain about it being a little too cold back at the base." He then pulled the trigger and kept a continuous volley of blazing red peppers on the Supreme Leader's lower body. After a few stray moment, Rachel yelped as she shot up and Patton smirked as he twirled the blaster on his finger. "Works like a charm." He then got serious as he stowed it away. "Now mind filling us in on what happened, m'am?"

"What does it look like? I was attacked!" Rachel went off, obviously not thrilled about being ambushed in her own office. "I came to take a short break on Numbuh 74.239's suggestion, and end up walking into a trap!" She growled as she paced around the room fuming. "That witch tried to use some weird weapon to freeze me, and managed to take out my legs! The thing somehow ended up damaged, so she tied me up, threw me in my closet, and let the thing overload and explode! Leaving me to freeze to death!" After she had finished, she walked out of her room to her office, and folded her hands behind her back. "What's been happening since...! MY OFFICE!" She screeched in horror upon discovering the mess. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT-"

"Numbuh 362," Patton interrupted in an attempt to find out more. "This attacker, you wouldn't have happened to see who it was did you?"

"Of course I know who it was! It was me!"

"You locked yourself in the closet?"

"No, you idiot! The _other_ me!" Rachel explained as if talking to a child. _'Oh wait, I am!'_ She groaned as she slapped her forehead. "The girl who's probably strutting around here pretending to be me!"

"I knew it!" Patton proclaimed as he banged his fists together. "I knew that imposter was acting weird! Who was it? A robot? A clone? An agent sent by Father?"

"A teen using a bra. A master of disguise. I don't know who she is! All I know is that I want that no good tramp locked up!" Rachel grounded out as she tried to control herself. "Look, it's not important who she is, it's where she is right now and what's she after that we need to worry about."

"I don't know what she could be after." Fanny started as she remembered everything the fake Rachel did. "She went through operatives' personal files, and made a big show of leaving." Suddenly her eyes widened as it hit. "Numbuh 1! It has something ta do with Numbuh 1!"

"What would she want with him?" Before Rachel could press any further, the computer at her desk made a noise and she peered over to see Patton typing away on it.

"Why don't ya ask her yourself." The boy muttered as he read over the screen. "According to this, a S.C.A.M.P.E.R just docked in shuttle bay twelve."

"Shuttle bay twelve?" Fanny interrupted. "But that's Global Command's parking area."

"Exactly. The scanners are picking up two operatives in the command area right now. And one of them is flagged as Numbuh 362."

"That's it." Rachel firmly exclaimed as she marched back into her private quarters. "Numbuh 60 and 86, arm yourselves with whatever you can and prepare to man your battle stations."

"Aye, m'am!" Fanny saluted as she pulled out her second S.P.I.C.E.R. "Targets, m'am?"

"That faker's head." Rachel ordered as she walked back out. She had on her original orange sweater with two shoulder pads. Her legs had been re-outfitted with her sky blue light armor, and her eyes were dead set under her bangs. Her left hand containing her Yield sign broke into a spin; twirling the weapon around and slamming it against the ground to shake off any chilly chippings. "No one tries to ice me in my own moonbase and gets away with it!"

* * *

"Rachel, would you just hold up for a second?" Nigel tried to delay his girlfriend to no avail. The two had just hopped off the S.C.A.M.P.E.R and the blonde had immediately walked on to the Global Command deck with him in tow. After following her up the stairs, he put down his present and tried to get her to listen to him. "Just tell me what's going on!"

"I already did, Nigel." 'Rachel' answered as stepped onto to the Supreme Leader's terminal. Her free hand strayed to her pocket to pull out her flash drive, which she stuck into the port with a smirk. "I need to upload my program." As expected, the firewall defense flared, demanding a password before it terminated the unknown protocol. The blonde flicked opened the Book of KND and skimmed over the page she bookmarked. She then rose her brow once she read over the code Numbuh 0 had used. "Agatha1, eh? Whatever." She typed in the word without haste, and showed some surprise as it let her through. "There we go." She chuckled as she began uploading her program.

:PASSWORD ACCEPTED. ANTI-BAD STUFF FIREWALL HAS BEEN DEACTIVATED. **WARNING!** YOUR SYSTEM IS NOW UNPROTECTED:

:SECURITY OVERRIDE HAS BEEN APPROVED. NOW RECONFIGURING FRIEND OR FOE TARGETING SYSTEM:

Behind Rachel, Nigel eyes increased in size as the words traveled through his mind. "Friend or foe targeting? Why would that need to be changed?"

Rachel turned and offered the Brit a dry look. "Well, I don't wanna get shot, and I don't want pesky intruders." She then started to play with her hair as she waited for the program to process. "Oh it won't be long now."

"Be long until what?"

"Oh you'll see." She teased as she leapt down and stalked closer to the boy. "Care to help me celebrate? We are alone up here." She cooed as she draped herself over the boy. "We shouldn't let the opportunity go to waste, and there's this great stash of blurpleberry ice cream on Deck Thirteen." She offered alluringly, only to frown when Nigel stepped away.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to decline." He stated as he peered down at the girl. "I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's going on."

"Aw geez, not this again." She groaned. "I already told you Nigel, I needed the book to get codes. You heard the computer, I'm reconfiguring the friend or foe thingies."

"But why?" He pressed as he stepped forward. "Why do they need to be changed?"

"Because they just have to!" The blonde grumbled as she was starting to get ticked with him. Maybe it was time to give him his 'present'. "I don't see why you just can't drop it."

"I can't drop it, because this is not you!" Nigel exclaimed waving his arms around for emphasis. "Crashing a S.C.A.M.P.E.R, insulting my friends, leaving all your table manners at home. None of it makes any sense."

"It doesn't have to make sense." She countered as she suddenly forced herself into his arms. While he was stunned, she planted another peck on his lips, enjoying the feeling as she pulled away. "Who cares if it makes sense if it feels so good?" She moaned as she clutched him tighter. She then all but growled when he jerked out of her hold, again. "What gives?"

"That's just it. This _doesn't_ feel right." Nigel glared as he looked down at the girl. "Like that kiss just now, or the one before! It didn't feel like I was kissing the Supreme Leader I have strong feelings for, it felt like I was kissing some jerk! I don't like it, and I don't think I like this new rude you!"

'Rachel' took in Nigel's words, and she briefly lost a grip on her control. "Like or not, Nigel, this is me! This is Rachel McKenzie now and no matter what you may think, there's nothing you can do about it!"

Her snarl surprised him, but he in turn surprised her by grasping her shoulders and gazing intently into her eyes while she was distracted. "You wanna know what I really think? I think you're..." His words trailed off as he looked into her raging brown irises. Only he could clearly read them now. They weren't filled with the warmth, kindness, beauty or the selfless inviting aura that was Rachel. No. They were filled with spite, coldness, the ugliness of green envy that only held a self-serving agenda.

Those weren't the shining orbs he had fallen for.

Letting his expression tighten into a sharp glare, Nigel leapt away the moment 'Rachel's' hand came up to knock him away. He hit the floor with his hands, and sprung himself into the air to flip and land in a battle ready crouch. He growled at the girl, pointing at her accusingly now that the jig was up. "You're _not_ Rachel!"

"Dang, those rumors were true." Not Rachel snapped her fingers as she tsked. "But I gotta say honey, I'm disappointed. Even if you weren't able to read my eyes, I thought you shoulda been able to pick up on it." She then gave a sly smirk as she slowly paced around the boy. "I didn't think I was _that_ great of an actress."

"I had thought Rachel was upset with me." Nigel butted back as he kept his eyes trained on her. "It's hard to predict you girls' actions with your emotions all over the place."

"Is that the best excuse you can come up with?" She laughed as she stopped once she had made a complete revolution around him. "I wonder how Rachel would've reacted had you said that in front of her."

At the mention of his real girlfriend, Nigel snapped a blaster out at her. "What have you done to her?" He growled, his finger itching against the trigger.

Not Rachel spared a quick glance to her watch and evilly grinned. "Right now she should be-"

"Right here." A furious voice from behind called out. Nigel and the fake looked back stunned to see the real Rachel, Fanny, and Patton standing at the entrance of Global Command combat ready. Rachel's hold on her Yield sign tightened, and she aimed the tip at the imposter. "You're an idiot to think you can get rid of me that easily."

"Rachel." Nigel uttered in complete relief that she was alright. If she had got hurt... "Where have you been all this time?"

"I was locked up and left to die! You can thank Miss Faker over there for that." She sneered as she stepped forward. Her look then traveled to the Brit and her expression softened. "But what are you doing here, Numbuh 1? Did she manage to fool you too?"

"It appears she did, m'am." He mumbled out, ashamed he couldn't tell the difference between his girlfriend and an impersonator. He then growled as he loaded his blaster. "But I'm more then willing to make up for it." He affirmed as he kept his aim on Not Rachel. "Okay you, the game's over. Time to fess up, just who are you?"

Not Rachel rose a brow as she looked out before her. "Who am I? I'm everything Miss Bossy Britches is not. And had it been a few minutes later, 'being alive' would've been another difference we shared." Her smile dropped as she glared in Fanny and Patton's direction. "But of course those two had to ruin that. I swear, it's one of the reasons I hate Positives. You're all a bunch of no good charlatans who have nothing better to do then to get in my way." She spoke as her glower flew over all present company, but once her look landed on Nigel, she smirked. "But there are a few exceptions, I suppose."

"Positives," Nigel repeated to himself. While the three behind him didn't catch the meaning, he did. "So that's it. You're one of _them_."

"The name's Lehcar EiZnekcm," The opposite blonde introduced with a smirk. "But I think it would less of a mouthful just to call me Negative 362."

**-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-**

**-Transmission Interrupted.

* * *

**

**Yay, finally got this out of the way. Points to everyone who figured it out beforehand. I've always been fond with the idea of the Negative Universe, and I thought it would be fun to explore with more possible characters beyond the ones already shown. This is almost done. One more huge confrontation and epilogue.**

**Later.**


	7. End Transmission

**Transmission Interrupted... Please Standby.**

…**Processing... Processing...**

**Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.

* * *

**

In a way, it was captivating to see how devoid of life the moonbase seemed to be at the moment. Other then during Father's brief reign as Supreme Leader, one would be hard pressed to recall a time the lunar treehouse was this silent. At the moment no science nerds were manning their computers, or guards making sure security was up to point. No, the only children still present were the five in a stalemate in Global Command. Four prominent figures of the organization stood tense and ready. Ready to take on the one deceiver who had somehow managed to elude them all up until this moment.

Rachel stood back with a pensive look about her features. Her hand gripped her Yield sign a bit tighter and she sneered a bit as she watched yet another exchange between Nigel and that faker. What the heck did she just call herself? Lehcar was it? What kind of name was that? It was just _her_ name spelled backwards.

Finally having enough, the blonde slammed the fist of her weapon down and drew attention to herself. "Numbuh 1, what in the world is she talking about?" She demanded an answer. After being locked up and left to freeze in her closet by her impersonator, she believed she was entitled to some truth.

"She's Numbuh Negative 362," Nigel explained. "Presumably a member of the Destructively Nefarious Kids, a mirror organization of the Kids Next Door that exists in the Negaverse, a world parallel to our own."

Left of Rachel, Fanny lowered her S.P.I.C.E.R in confusion. "Negaverse? What's that?"

"Think of a world almost completely opposite to this one." Lehcar spoke, beating Nigel to the punch. "One where the kids do all the adults' work, while they themselves sit around and play video games and munch on candy all day." She reminisced with a smile. "And instead of fighting for their freedom, the DNK made sure the kids stayed in their proper place under the adults' control and ruled the world with an iron fist." She then leaned back into the railing let out a blissful sigh. "Good times."

"An alternate universe." Rachel mumbled in understanding. It was kind of like that one episode in...uh, never mind. "Why is it that this is the first time I've heard of this, DNK, Numbuh 1?" She questioned with a scolding look.

"My team had a rather close encounter with them some time ago, and we had assumed the situation had been settled for the better." He then peered over his shoulder while motioning to Lehcar. "And besides, would you have believed me without this kind of proof?"

Rachel knitted her brows as she looked away, somewhat understanding where the Brit was coming from. "Well, we have seen some pretty strange things." She then shook her head and got back to business. "But I think there are more pressing things we need to focus on right now."

"Yeah, like miss copycat over there." Patton agreed as he stepped forward. "Exactly why are you doing this? Aren't you just another version of Numbuh 362?"

"This whole, 'alternate' thing completely flies over your head, doesn't it?" Lehcar mocked much to Patton's disdain. "Let me put this in a way you might understand. She, _good_. Me, _evil_." She explained using exaggerated hand motions. "Get it?"

Patton growled at the DNK operative, his trigger finger burning. "Yea. I get it."

"But I don't get how we coulda been fooled by the likes of ya." Fanny shouted out, glaring down the blonde. "I mean it should of have been _obvious_! Only a spoiled brat like you could so revolting!" She insulted, unknowingly garnering the attention of Rachel. "I mean look at yer hair! It looks like something a baby spat up! And what are ya trying to pull with two layers of clothes? Ye cold blooded or something? And then there's that ugly, tacky orange striped sweater-"

"Ahem."

Fanny halted in her tirade long enough to glance over to Rachel. Who dressed and looked _exactly _like the person she was trying to put down. She rose her hands up in defense and nervously flinched under the Supreme Leader's stare. "B-But it looks _great_ on you, m'am!" Rachel groaned into her hand at Fanny's behavior, but it was cut short when Lehcar began to chortle with cruel laughter.

"Wow!" The girl giggled as she wiped at her eyes. She then looked down to Rachel and smirked at her predicament. "It's so hard to find good help these days, isn't it?"

"Enough fooling around!" Nigel yelled out as he kept his blaster on Lehcar. "What are you up to, Negative? I thought the DNK had changed after we took down Negative 4."

"Oh they did, Nigel." The blonde reaffirmed with a scowl. "They changed into a bunch of lousy pushovers! After dethroning Yllaw, Negative 86 let the Little Traitor Dudes and Daddy take over. They wanted to make our world a better place for children like yours. Pfft." She scoffed. "We went from top dogs to sympathizing wussies!"

Nigel rose a brow as she went on. "I take it you didn't want to go along with it?"

"No, I didn't." Lehcar replied. "I had everything I could have wanted while the DNK was at its prime. I had the easiest job, underlings that feared me, and all the chocolate I could stomach. I didn't have to lift a finger! It was the prefect life." She grinned, but then it slowly morphed into a frown. "But then your team shows up, and my way of thinking doesn't fly with higher ups anymore. Then they actually wanted me to WORK! Can you believe that?" She exclaimed in absurdity.

The more she heard, the more disgusted Rachel became. "You really _are_ my counterpart."

"And proud of it!" Lehcar smiled with her hands on her hips. "Life is so much simpler when then only back you have to worry about is your own. You should try it sometime." She then tapped her chin as she tried to remember her place in the her story. "Now where was I? Oh right, anyway, the DNK was changing its views, and I among a few others weren't too happy about it."

"What happened?"

"A small rebellion broke out. Heck, we called ourselves the real DNK, while the bigger group was labeled as Neo Kids Next Door." She bitterly laughed. "For a while, it looked like we would win, but then the NKND recruited children who were tried of oppression and other pro-kid adults like Daddy." She then lowered her head and groaned. "We knew it was over the moment they asked the Plumber for help."

Patton couldn't help but ask, "The Plumber?"

"The opposite of your universe's worst villain. I think you call him the Toiletnator?" She then shook her head, figuring it wasn't important. "But that last move sealed our fate. The cowards in our midst sold us out, and the rest of us got thrown in prison. 'Justice' prevailed over 'evil', yadda yadda yadda." She mumbled as she fiddled with her hair.

Nigel took in every scrap of information she had to offer; trying to figure out her motive before she told them. "So you started a revolt and failed. How does that lead up to you eventually ending up in our world?"

At his question, Lehcar only gave off a sly look. "Let's just say I caught someone's attention and got a lucky break."

"There's going to be plenty of _breaking_ alright." Rachel growled as she, Fanny, and Patton finally advanced up the remaining steps of the deck. All five players were now on the same level. "No one messes with me in my moonbase."

"Ooo, I'm_ trembling_!" Lehcar taunted as she waved Rachel off. Her dark brown eyes flicked over to the main terminal and grinned once she saw how far her program had came along. "Your little threats don't scare me. It's not like they matter. Soon, this is going to be MY moonbase."

Nigel shared a backwards glance with Rachel, and tried his luck by stepping forward. But then the Brit tensed when Lehcar noticed him; even more so when all she did was smirk and her let dark gaze trail over his form. Creepy. "So that's your game? A hostile takeover?"

"Meh. Basically." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I know it's kind of a rip off of Yllaw's plan, but he had the right idea. The Negaverse has become too undesirable for me and I crave a fresh start. So I decided to take a gamble here." She then giggled as her arms swung out. "And can you imagine the look on my face when I found out my Positive had set up so well! Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, oh I'm loving the sound of that!"

Rachel's response was to simply roll her eyes. "The job is not as glamorous as you would think."

"Only because you're a goody-goody who follows rules and tradition." Lehcar batted off. She then stroked her chin as she took in the whole command deck. "I read up on a few basics. According to your code, whatever the Supreme Leader says, goes. I see bundles of opportunities I could take with that little perk. But of course, I would have to take your place. And for that to happen, you needed to be taken care of." She then turned back to the four, a sinister look darkening her expression. "Did you have fun in the closet by the way?"

Seeing that the seething Rachel was about to snap, Fanny decided to speak up this time. "But how did ye get past security? Our scanners should have picked ya up the moment ye came aboard."

"I guess that's one of the benefits of sharing her face," Lehcar uttered as she spared a smug glance to Rachel. "While we're alternate of each other, we do share _some_ accepts. For example; since she's another version of me, albeit more homely one anyway, we share similar core DNA."

"Of course!" Patton exclaimed as he quickly got the gist of it. "Our scanners wouldn't have noticed the difference. The system would have just tagged her as Numbuh 362."

"You do have brains after all. I was worried." Lehcar commented. "But yes, the security scanners were easy enough to get by. And while I'm not all for that sneaky business, everyone else was too busy to really pay attention. Kids were either working on writing out mission reports, fighting over trading cards, or struggling to get back home in time to watch Saturday morning cartoons. With all that in my favor, getting into your, or should I say MY, office was a piece of cake!" She cheered, proud of all the wonderful progress she made.

Fanny had finally reached her limit. The red head cocked her S.P.I.C.E.R and prepared to jump. "Enough talk! I'm gonna- EEP!" She screamed in shock as a laser shot at the floor in front of her. All four kids looked down at the scorch mark with surprise. They then followed the line of fire and looked up to see the defense turrets prodding out. They aligned the wall near the front of the room, and were trained on the four standing there. The mouth of the one that had shot at Fanny still smoking. "W-Wha?"

"Oh it's already starting! Excellent!" Lehcar suddenly cheered from her place by the Supreme terminal. "Before long, the system's radius will increase, and it'll fry you no matter where you are!"

Nigel turned back from Fanny to level his blaster at Lehcar. "What have you done?"

"Remember that friend or foe thing my program was messing with?" She said to jar his memory. "Well it's how I plan on taking over this place. With each passing second, my program is marking everyone but me as a possible threat. That means before long, any operative that I don't like will get zapped when he steps within a few feet of me."

"You hacked our Friend or Foe targeting system?" Rachel stuttered in shock. "How did you manage that? That program is as old as the moonbase itself! It's base coding was set by the creator only he can fully operate it!"

"Which is why I needed Nigel to give me this." She lightly stated as she produced the Book of KND itself from her sweater's pouch. "According to the files in your office, only Numbuh 0 had full access to the firewall protocol that blocked my virus. And since he was stupid enough to write it in the book, it was easy to find after skimming through a few pages." She laughed at their stunned looks as she stowed the book away. She needed to deliver that later. "That's it. Soon I'll have control of this whole moonbase. It's inner security, and it's orbital defense! Soon the whole KND will kiss my feet and anyone who doesn't like it will get fried the moment they get within two feet of me." She then center her look to Nigel and subtly winked. "Thanks honey, I couldn't have done it without you."

The Brit winced as Lehcar's last comment hit home. Soon the whole Kids Next Door would be brought to its knees, and it would be his fault for letting her trick him. How could he have been so blind? So stupid? He risked an apologetic look back at Rachel, but the blonde just had a blank look across her face. Just staring at him. He then felt worse then day old crud when he picked up a small crack of hurt in her expression. But then she only shook her head and shifted her glare to Lehcar, deciding not to be vocal about the situation.

"Way ta go ye, STOOPID BOY!" But fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Fanny was vocal in her stead. The red head girl had no qualms about speaking of Nigel's idiotic imbecility. "Why dontcha jus' give her all our secrets while yer at it? _Oh_! That's right! YOU ALREADY DID!" She continued to rage. "She's got all the information she could ever need on us, and thanks to YOU we can't even get close enough ta stop her!"

"Hold up a second." Patton interrupted as he noticed something. He narrowed his eyes as he measured his, Fanny's, and Rachel's distance from Lehcar. Then he became confused as he measured Nigel distance, and saw that the Brit was much more in range. "If that were true, then why aren't the turrets trying to blast Numbuh 1?"

"Huh?" Nigel muttered confused. But before he could speak again, he felt his body tense at the presence of someone behind him. "Hold- AACK!" He groaned in as his blaster was slapped out of his wrist. Darn it! Why did he turn his back on her? Sadly, he would get no chance to recover, for the second Lehcar disarmed him, she kicked at his lower legs; forcing him to his knees. He glared up to Lehcar, seeing her sly smirk and her hands gripping the box he had tossed aside when they arrived.

"Because," She slowly began as she opened the lid of the box. "I need Nigel close so I can finally give him his _present_!" She emphasized as she quickly forced something onto his scalp.

"Argh!" The boy grunted as the strange helmet blocked his line of sight. He winced in pain as the thing seemed to tighten around his head, and he managed to lift it out of his eyesight goof enough to see what in the name of Zero she had slammed down on him. The Brit then paled as he recognized the ebony steel and looming tubes of the fashion item he despised the most. "Oh no." He whimpered. For atop his head was something he had only worn once before.

A Boyfriend Helmet.

"Oh, yes!" Lehcar grinned as she pulled out a control from her pocket. Before he could even think to pry it off, she switched the mechanism on. The helmet hummed to life and had immediate effect. Nigel screamed in pain as the helmet began frying his brain; tiny electric crackles flying in result. Veins around his head began to visibly pulse as the helmet's wires dug into his skin; taking complete control. Finally, the light show ended, and smoke hissed from the helmet as Nigel's arms slumped. After an idle moment, the Brit slowly stood up and trekked carefully to Lehcar's side. The blonde cruelly laughed as the Brit came over, and finally lowered her head onto his shoulder in satisfaction. "Feeling better, honey?"

"Yes...dear." The boy hissed out between teeth. The part of him still truly there wanted nothing more then to crush this hideous device under his heel. But the larger part that was in control would have none of that. It was just forcing a sickening urge to comment on Lehcar's beauty.

"Nigel!" Rachel cried out. She watched frightened as the bald boy was forced to the ground, the strange helmet causing him obvious pain. When the sparks ceased and he stood, she felt a wave of relief course through her. But that moment of peace was shattered as he walked to that faker's side. Then she got a good look at his face; it contorted with conflict and struggle. Like he was fighting with an unknown force. The blonde growled as she snarled at her opposite. "What did you do to my boyfriend?"

"You're just not getting with the program, are you?" Lehcar taunted as she made a show of draping over Nigel, and the Brit did nothing in protest. "He's MY boyfriend now. I figure you owe me one."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing I really feel like getting into." She then spared a sharp look to the Supreme Leader. "Let's just say when you two began, something else ended." She then giggled as she tickled under the subdued boy's chin. "I was just going to leave you to rot and break his heart, but he turned out to be much more appealing then the coward back in my world." She then growled as she thought back on her past relationship. "That'll show that loser for dumping me for that fat cow!" She then blinked as she schooled her features. "Besides, the helmet was like, half off!"

"Half off?" Fanny asked, a tad interested. A helmet that brainwashed the minds of boys? "Hmm." She mumbled to herself, a slow smirk making its way up her mouth. But her thoughts were stopped dead by the dry looks of Rachel and Patton. "Huh? Oh, I mean, stop. You monster." She droned halfheartedly.

Rachel rolled her eyes as she pointed her Yield sign towards Lehcar. "The only way you're stealing my life is over my dead body." She growled, the two behind her getting ready as well.

"That can be arranged." Lehcar darkly promised as she turned to the terminal. Only to gawk in shock when she saw the program hadn't fully uploaded. _'Only 53%! you've gotta be kidding me!' _Her leg snapped back of its own accord and prepared to unleash a volley of kicks in frustration. But moments before her toes connected with the metal, she stopped as she looked towards Nigel, a wicked idea forming. "Nigel, be a doll and get rid of those three whilst I deal with this." She ordered, delivering a quick peck on the cheek to add insult to injury.

Under heavy influence of the Boyfriend Helmet, Nigel could not help but obey. "Yes...dear." He graveled out as he leapt forward.

Rachel frowned as Nigel landed in her way. "C'mon, Nigel. Fight it and stand down." She urged, wanting avoid conflict with the Brit. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to." She stressed as she hoisted up her weapon.

The Brit himself just kept stalking forward, his muscles tightening for the attack. He tried with all his might to resist, but the helmet's influence was already slacking any rebellious thoughts his fighting mind could conjure. "I...I...I'd like to see you try!" He roared as he went in to pounce.

Rachel saw the attack coming, and prepared as such. Positioning her Yield sign into a defensive stance, she gripped the metal pole with both hands as Nigel collided with it. Quickly using his momentum against him, the blonde dropped onto her back and let the boy fly over her. She continued to let her body roll until she was back on her feet. Once stable, she quickly turned to train her gaze on Nigel. As soon as he entered her sight, he bounced up from the floor and wildly leapt at her again. Twirling it her hand, she poised the blunt boxing glove outwards and charged forth; hoping to ram him aside. Once Nigel was down, they could concentrate on getting close to Lehcar.

However, the fact she was dealing with Numbuh 1 had completely slipped her mind. Brainwashed or not, the operative always had a battle game. Nigel ran straight for the Yield sign's blunt end, waiting for the right moment to unleash his plan. Gritting his teeth, the boy twisted his body and curved around the boxing glove. Before Rachel could react, the controlled Brit grabbed the length of the weapon and used his strength to swing it around. Surprised, Rachel lost her grip and went flying. She landed clumsily a few feet away, and Nigel stalked forward to take advantage. While Rachel was getting up, the Brit rose the sign over his head, planning on finishing her right then and there. But before he could deliver, a red hot chilli pepper blasted the weapon out of his hand. His fury then shifted from Rachel to the two before him.

Lowering his S.P.I.C.E.R, Patton smirked as he tried to lure Nigel in. "Come get it while its hot, red shirt!" The Brit took the bait, and stepped over Rachel as he charged towards Patton. The driller narrowed his eyes as he tried to land a shot on the bald boy, but Nigel either weaved around his line of fire, or pressed on despite the burn. Once Nigel was on him, the first thing he did was kick the weapon out of Patton's hand. Shaking the pain out of his wrist, the snow capped boy's opposite hand shot forth to catch's Nigel's as it surged forth. Then the other soon joined in a similar way.

Their fingers locked as they tried to overpower the other, but Patton's training and the rage induced by the Boyfriend Helmet made it an even match. Sweat trickled down Patton's brow as he forced a step forward, gaining headway in forcing the Brit down. "Getting tried, maggot?"

Nigel growled as Patton seemed to be winning, but suddenly his face blanked before a smirk appeared. Taking the Arctic Commander by surprise, Nigel's grip on his hands increased, and the Brit let his power slack. Nigel used Patton's sudden jolt of strength to swing him violently around into the person trying to sneak up behind him. Fanny yelped as Patton was rammed into her; two falling into a tangled heap on the floor.

"GAH!" Fanny grunted as Patton barreled into her chest. "Watch what yer doing ya idiot!"

"Me?" Patton hissed right back as he tried fix his snow cap. "Why didn't you tell me you would sneak behind him?"

"Because then he would know too, you stupid Eskimo!"

While the two fussed at one another, Nigel chuckled as he walked towards them. The helmet atop his head whirred, and he in turn cracked his knuckles as he planned on getting them while they were down. But before he could make another step, the person he forgot about suddenly hopped onto his back. "ARGH!" He growled in anger as he tried to swing Rachel off of him.

"Hold still...Nigel!" Rachel heaved out as she tried to tug the helmet off of him. But the device was engraved into his skin, and she couldn't help but wince when he yelped in pain. She was hesitant for a split second, but then redoubled her efforts seeing it as the only way. "It's for your own good!" She stressed as she pulled even harder. Right when she felt it about to snap off, two hands gripped hers. Her eyes then bulged as Nigel suddenly threw her up and into the air. "WAAAH!"

The blonde felt her body tumble during its short stint in the air. Trying to recover best she could, she jerked her legs back and hit the deck in a roll. Her nails dug into the floor to readjust herself, and she swung her head around to fling her hair away. Once her eyesight was clear, her features morphed into a sneer when she saw Lehcar a few feet away; slamming away on _her_ terminal and ignoring the struggle going on behind her. But once she noticed her closeness to Lehcar, she snapped up to the ceiling in fear as the turrets craned in her direction. She froze, awaiting to get blown away, but then only stared up bewildered when they did nothing.

"Huh?" Not even a warning shot. "Why aren't they firing? I'm in range."

Patton and Fanny were close enough to hear her, and looked up wondering why the lasers didn't fire as well. Then the red head's face beamed with understanding. "It's like the lass said! Ye two have the same DNA; the scanner can't tell the difference!"

Rachel immediately caught on. "Right." She then stood and glared towards Lehcar's back. "You two handle Numbuh 1 while I show this imposer what a _real_ Supreme Leader can do!" The blonde then sprinted forth while Fanny and Patton went to work on Nigel who just recovered from his girlfriend's onslaught.

"How do I make this thing go faster?" Lehcar fumed as she blitzed through the pages of the KND's bible. She halted on one page and her finger trailed slid down the paper. "To reroute processing power, redirect system protocol by using function K-5 Delta-GAH! Who wrote this? A nerd?" She grumbled as she shoved the book into her pouch. Her fingers rattled against the side railing as she tried to figure how to get her virus to take over. Her eyes then flicked over to a message that just popped up. "K.O.L.O.S.S.A.L.I.N.E.R docking in bay six? What the heck is that supposed to- HACK!" She coughed as something forcibly tugged at her collar. An arm then snapped around her neck trapping her in a head lock. Her eyes wildly shifted until they landed on Rachel's raging ones.

"I got you," Rachel stated as she tightened her hold on Lehcar. "Faker!"

Seeing the heat in her opposite's eyes, Lehcar decided to taunt her a bit. "Faker? I think _you're_ the fake around here." As she said this, her free arm elbowed into Rachel's gut. The blonde grunted and her hold slackened, which was just enough for Lehcar to slip through. "You're comparing yourself to me? Ha!" She laughed as she brought her knee up, ramming it into Rachel's side. The girl bent over in pain only to have Lehcar raise her leg vertically and slam it down on her exposed back. Rachel hit the floor with a thud as the foe leaned down to chuckle into her ear. "You're not even good enough to be _my_ fake." However, her jeers halted the moment she felt a hand grip her ankle.

She looked down in time to see Rachel peering up towards behind a veil of golden tinted hair. "I'll make you eat those words!" It wasn't a threat, it was a promise. Rachel rolled onto her back, tossing Lehcar across the deck as she did so. The negative stumbled back, crashing into the railing. While she was stunned, Rachel got to her feet and sprinted to tackle Lehcar. The negative could do nothing as her positive counterpart charged into her. The force of the attack was too much for the railing, and the two went sailing over onto the lower deck.

While they fell, the two did their best to land as many hits as they could. Rachel held nothing back as she tried to bury her fist into her enemy's chest. Lehcar gasped in pain, and retaliated by clawing at Rachel's face; grinning when the blonde reeled back and clutched her scratches. While her defenses were open, Lehcar grabbed Rachel's sides and turned her body mid-air so she was the one on the bottom. And so when they hit the floor, Rachel could feel all the air rush out of her lungs. Lehcar used the moment to laugh at her victims pain.

But it would prove foolish for Rachel was quick to recover. Bucking her knees, she propelled the negative away and rolled to the side while she went flying. Seeing Lehcar was still airborne, the blonde broke out into a sprint for the wall. Passing under Lehcar, the Supreme Leader jumped then kicked herself off the wall. While in the air, she twirled her body into a spinning kick, which connected violently with Lehcar shoulder. The fair haired foe screamed in pain, only to be muffled when Rachel quickly brought up her other foot and slammed it down; sending the negative cascading to the deck.

Lehcar hit the deck with a mighty thud; her body bouncing slightly after impact. Her hand shot to her sore shoulder and she hissed in a combination of pain and anger. Her dark eyes snapped up as Rachel came down, and she leapt out of the way as the blonde's foot hit the very spot she was moments ago. Once Rachel steadied herself, she went on the offensive trying to take down Lehcar, but the negative would not give her any breaks.

"Is this the best you can do?" The blonde laughed as she blocked with ease. Rachel's hand shot forth to which she simply caught in her own. She then grinned as she seemingly overpowered the girl. "Because if it is, then it's really sad." She then scowled as Rachel kicked at her legs, causing her to step back.

"This is nothing, I just thought I wouldn't need to put out much. Considering you jumped me the first time we met." Rachel bit back as the two paced around the other. "Although, I wasn't expecting you to be this troubling."

Lehcar only laughed. "Let me guess, you thought since you were 'The Best Spy' I would have to be the worst and I that I would lack in skill?" She questioned. "If so, you've _really _underestimated me." She then shrugged as she halted. "Sure, I suck at spying. But I've always been more for the direct approach." She sadistically grinned as she limbered up her arms. "Then there's the fact that while you've been resting your butt signing papers, your skills have dulled. While mine have gotten that much more potent."

Rachel rose a brow at this, and could only shake her head in a small form of disappointment. "You're not lazy out of force of this alternate law, you're just lazy for the sake of it."

"Life is much more simpler that way." Lehcar smirked. "And it'll get even more so once I remove your uptight butt."

Rachel glared at the girl, but then her look softened as she caught sight of something behind the girl. Then she smirked, much to Lehcar's surprise. "Well it's not gonna be as easy as you think." She then took of in a run towards the negative. Lehcar tried to execute a drop kick, but Rachel only sprung into the air and flipped over her. When she landed, her hand shot out to grab her fallen Yield sign Patton had shot away. She then made a show of twirling the weapon around on her finger. Finally, she used one arm to point the sharp end towards Lehcar, the edges of the sign itself glinting in the light. "I'm the Supreme Leader for a reason. I think it's time I showed you why."

Despite it all, Lehcar seemed eager for combat. "Hmm, nice toy. Wanna see mine?" As the words fled her lips, Lehcar reached down into her sweater's pouch. Her hand slowly reeled out, holding a small circular disc the size of her palm. She then held it up and her thumb pressed down into the center. The small disc then seemed to grow and expand into a frightening looking device. A crimson red stop sign with sharp, jagged spike edges, a small area where the hand can grip without fear of being struck and a small yo-yo finger ring. The letters spelling out 'Stop' were painted on with an intimidating ebony color. "What do you think?"

* * *

**Destructively Nefarious Kids: S.T.O.P.**

**S**ign. **T**ears. **O**pen. **P**eople.

* * *

Lehcar giggled insanely as she cocked her arm back. "And without further ado," She then flung her arm out, the S.T.O.P sign spiraling rapidly towards Rachel. "Here's your sign!"

Rachel frowned and quickly swung her Yield sign to protect herself from the S.T.O.P. She held the post in front of her, and the S.T.O.P met with the metal with a mighty cling. The S.T.O.P sign continued to spin, digging into Rachel's and causing flaring sparks to fly. After a moment, the weapon halted in its attack and retreated back into Lehcar's hand in an action similar to a boomerang. Rachel glanced down at her Yield, and made a dissatisfied noise when she noticed a crick. Lehcar's goading wasn't helping either. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath before she swung out her weapon and charged forth.

While Rachel clashed with her alternate below, the Global Tactical Officer and Arctic Commander dealt with their own struggle above. Nigel arched back and watched Patton's fist glide over his face. Suddenly his hand shot up and clamped around the driller's wrist like a steel trap. He began to eerily rise his torso; twisting Patton's wrist in an awkward down direction all the while. Once he was looming over the boy, all he could do was submit to the helmet's hold and smirk at Patton's contorted agony. Nigel's smile then dimmed as he caught wind of a commotion rumbling up from the rear. After finally releasing Numbuh 60, he hopped off to the side and let Fanny ram into her teammate. Again.

"W-Whoa!" Patton stumbled as he and the red head toppled over. After regaining a notion of where up and down was, he growled as he pushed the dazed girl off of him. "Geez, 86! I know we're both boys, but I didn't think we looked alike! I mean I actually still have _hair_!"

"Oh, shaddup!" Fanny spat out as she managed to get to her feet quicker then the sergeant himself. "At least I'm not getting trapped in a submission every time I get close!"

Patton shifted his weight onto the railing as he hoisted his body. "You got any better ideas?"

"Yeah, stay out of my way!" Before the boy could form a coherent response, Fanny had already shot off for the controlled Brit.

Nigel looked on blankly as Fanny came forth. After a moment, he bent his knees, opened his palms, and held his left hand out while the other curled behind his back. When the Irish red head was upon him, she let her left hook fly forwards only to be caught in Nigel's grasp, but she had prepared for this. After watching the bald boy pull it on Patton, Fanny locked her fingers between his and twisted his fist downwards; Nigel hissing at the affliction. While he was hurt, Fanny shifted her weight to her right leg, and swung her left leg up to roundhouse Nigel. As her heel connected, she let go of his hand and smirked when he went flying. The moment he hit the floor, Fanny left the world behind her as she jumped towards her prey.

After Nigel crashed on the lime tiling, he held his head as it began to ache. His knees wobbled as he stood, and the entire room was spinning. What was going on? But then his hand leapt away from his scalp when a electrifying sensation caused a jolt of pain. He then carefully felt around the area and his eyes widened when he realized what was wrong. When Fanny kicked him, she put a dent on the helmet. But before he could evaluate the information any further, his let out an ear piercing howl as the Boyfriend Helmet violently seized control again. He suddenly craned his neck back to see Fanny rocketing down; her foot honing in for his head. Fueling of the rage the helmet was causing, Nigel held both his hands up and snapped down, catching Fanny's foot.

Fanny grinned as she came ever closer to her target. She didn't see how Patton was having a hard time, all she had to do was think and she could read and predict his simple brawling motions. Of course boys wouldn't think, how silly of her to forget that. But when she felt her foot being trapped, she started to rethink that last thought a itty-bitty margin. "AAAAAHH!" The girl bellowed as the world began to blur. Nigel rotated his arms furiously, transform the angry red head into a swirling tornado. After a few more power filled rotations, Nigel heaved as he chucked Fanny back from whence she came.

"AAAH-OFA!" Fanny wheezed as she ungracefully landed. She snarled into the floor and slammed her fist down in aggravation. This shouldn't be that difficult! It was just Numbuh 1! The heavy stomping of combat boots caused her to slowly flicked her eyes upwards to see Patton holding a hand down.

"Good work, 86. I think you just made him madder." He smugly joked as he waited for the girl to to get up. As he expected, she only swatted his hand away and recovered on her own. As she joined his side, the sergeant rose his fist as he saw the enraged Nigel inching closer from the other corner of the deck. "We have to actually come up with a plan here. Just blindly assaulting isn't doing squat."

"It shouldn't be this hard!" Fanny piped up as she kicked her foot around childishly. "I don't care what kinda sector leader he is, he's just one stupid boy!"

"You're forgetting the only reason you still have your job is because that _one stupid boy_ turned it down!" Patton irritatingly informed her, not in the mood for her angry little spats right now. "Look, we have to get rid of that helmet somehow. As long as he has it on, he won't hold any punches and it'll make him keep on fighting no matter how badly we cripple him."

Fanny arched a thin brow as she pictured Nigel limping on one leg trying to take them down with a broken arm. Her lips wiggled with mirth, and she rose a hand to her mouth to hold back most of her chuckles. Her brief joy however was doused when Patton sent her a scolding glare. She rolled her eyes as she scoffed him off. "Oh for Zero's sake, I'm not gonna put him in a wheelchair. Maybe sprain his ankle to slow him down – "

"Fanny…"

"Fine!" She huffed as she folded her arms. "What are we supposed to do then? Wait for him to take a nap?"

"We attack him simultaneously," Patton suggested as the Brit stalked closer. He narrowed his eyes at the ally turned enemy and looked towards Fanny to convey his seriousness on the matter. "Four fists are better then two. If the both of us work together, we can overwhelm him and manage to take out that contraption once and for all." He frowned when she opened her mouth to protest, but after a moment of contemplation, she groaned and limbered her arms. Numbuh 60 grinned upon seeing she was playing along. "Alright then. Follow my lead and –"

"_Ohhh_ no!" Fanny negatively objected as she jabbed her finger into his chest. "If I'm stooping to yer level, BOY, then you're followin' MY lead! Got it?"

Patton only rolled his eyes as he motioned forward. He didn't care how they got it done. "Ladies first." A sly smile slinked its way as he remembered this little exchange from earlier. "You _are_ a lady aren't – "

"GRRAAAAAAH!" Nigel barbarically roared as he leapt upon him. Fanny was quick to react as she grabbed the bald boy's arm and Irish whipped him into Patton. The driller socked his fist forward, and it found home in Nigel's gut. The Brit grumbled in pain as he bent down and hold his stomach, but Patton was unforgiving as he hiked his knee up as Nigel's face came down. The poor boy saw stars as the force caused his to stumble backwards. But all he did was back into Fanny's waiting hands, and as soon as they latched down, the girl swung him as he did her and let him fly off into the distance without any regrets.

Fanny panted from the excursion, and Patton used his snow cap to wipe at his sweating hairline. They looked over to see Nigel weakly getting up; the helmet crackling and forcing him to his limits. The two shared a glance, and smirked as they rushed off to finish him off.

_CLINK!_

_SWWWWEEEE!_

_CLINK!_

The ongoing symphony of steel clashing with steel was all that could be heard below as Rachel's 2x4 waged battle with Lehcar's 4x2. The blonde Supreme Leader ran low across the lower deck as she kept her eyes peeled for Lehcar's S.T.O.P sign that seemed to chase her at every turn. Her brown gaze snapped to the right as she could faintly make out the telltale whirring of the spinning disc of doom. She expertly switched her Yield post to her other waiting palm and swung down a vertical slash the moment her skin graced the metal. Her post made yet another clank as the S.T.O.P twirled into it. The spinning weapon was deflected and shot back, altering its course. It spun around behind the blonde and attempted to slice her head off, but Rachel predicted the action and fell into a roll. The S.T.O.P soared over her head and continued on back to its owner.

Lehcar snarled as she saw her weapon harmlessly pass over Rachel. Not even a nick! Upon seeing the S.T.O.P coming in for a return trip, she vaulted herself over a computer station, and caught the sign in her palm mid-air. She landed into a roll and heaved as she swung the S.T.O.P once she was right side up. As it flew towards her foe, Lehcar continued to advance to meet Rachel on the other side of the room. But then she cursed as the fair haired girl batted it away, and quickly shifted her direction so she would be there to catch it. She leapt into the air and the sign found home in her hand again. Lehcar continued in her jump to come down in a cartwheel; tossing the S.T.O.P at Rachel mid rotation.

Rachel herself skidded to a halt before she ran into the wall. She stood ready and snapped her eyes out to see the S.T.O.P targeting her at high speeds. Deciding there was no where else to run, she held her Yield sign straight with one had, and tucked the other behind her back; it would only get in the way otherwise. As the glinting S.T.O.P neared, the hand holding the post slackened and she began spinning it between her limber fingers. Her brows knitted in concentration, the Yield sign twirling like a large baton at high speeds. Rachel waited until the S.T.O.P was almost upon her, then swung spinning Yield sign out to block it.

_CLINK!_

The rotating Yield post came down across her upper body, flicking the S.T.O.P away and mucking up its dream of offing her head. But the sign would not be undone. The gleaming edges glinted with its owner's bloodlust, and it curved its flight course intending to tear into Rachel's side. But the blonde only calmly spun her weapon, bringing it around to protect her from harm.

_CLINK!_

It then aimed for her left side.

_CLINK!_

Her right side.

_CLINK!_

Her neck.

_CLINK!_

Her back.

_CLINK!_

But Rachel wouldn't even let it grace her sweater. Metallic sparks were forged with every deflection, and they fluttered around the blonde as she utilized her mastery of the Yield sign. The golden flare illuminated her silky locks; her performance seeming like a deadly dance executed to perfection. A lone bead of sweat dragged down her face; dripping off her chin as it reached its end. As soon as the droplet of water splashed against the deck, Rachel's grip on the Yield sign suddenly tightened and she grunted as she gave a mighty swing. "YA!"

Lehcar's eyes widened as her S.T.O.P came right back at her in a sloppy flight. The girl ducked as it flew over her head; trimming off a strand of her hair and burying itself into a computer screen from the station behind her. Her eye twitched as she watched the single strand fall, then she shot her hand back; gripping the S.T.O.P with her nails screeching against the material. She then grinned as she chucked it towards Rachel for the umpteenth time. "SNIP-SNIP!"

Rachel glared at the girl as she ran to meet her head on. She poised out the blunt boxing glove end and dug it into the floor as she pushed her legs forward. The metal post creaked as it bent, then snapped back out. Rachel in turn was launched into the air; performing a front flip and falling at Lehcar in a dive. The S.T.O.P veered upwards to slice her in half, but Rachel gripped her Yield sign with both hands and swung it horizontally to protect her face. This needed to be timed just right. Eventually, the S.T.O.P rattled against her post, but this time, she used it to assist. Her metal post had planted itself between two of its spinning blades, and Rachel used to rotation of the spinning cutters to flip herself over the S.T.O.P while airborne. The weapon continued on under her, while she landed in front of Lehcar feet first.

Negative 362 looked on shocked as Rachel landed in front of her, but she was able to get over it quick enough to duck a Yield swing. She then weaved her body to the side as Rachel slashed downwards, and she had to hop slightly when she continued into a horizontal swipe. "N-No fair! I'm not armed!" She yelped as the sharp Yield sign graced her sleeve, leaving a fine cut.

"You didn't seem to mind when _I_ was defenseless!" Rachel growled as she reeled her sign in. She was about to slash Lehcar again, but stiffened when a sinister smirk played about the negative's lips. She then realized what was going on, and quickly leaned on her sign post for support. Using the spost, she lifted her body upwards and let the S.T.O.P whiz under her as it returned to Lehcar. Rachel came down a bit tired from the feat, but brushed aside as she swung up her weapon up to block Lehcar's slash.

"Why don't you just give up?" Lehcar growled as she used the S.T.O.P as a melee weapon. Her hand shot back and swung down to deliver another blade strike, but Rachel only blocked it. "You have so many perks yet you never use them! It's a complete waste!"

"For someone pretending to be me, you obviously haven't lived a minute in my shoes." Rachel grunted out as she swung her weapon. "Besides, it's _my_ life and I'm not giving it up for anything!"

"Oh please, you don't even _have_ a life!" Lehcar mocked as she easily dodged Rachel's strike. "I haven't been here long, but I've seen enough! You think the idiots around here respect you? They only do what you say because they have to or you'll sick your psychotic watchdog on them." Her arm connected with the blonde's Yield sign, and she grinned when she saw her wince. "And come to think of it, your title is a bit overrated dontcha think? You call yourself a Supreme Leader when all you really are is some pencil pusher!" Lehcar smirked as she rose her leg up and kicked into Rachel's weapon.

Rachel was surprised, she expected Lehcar to dish out another slice. The blonde stumbled back, and jumped to the side just in time to avoid the blade of the S.T.O.P. "You think I care about your insults?" She countered, trying to hide how much Lehcar was angering her.

"Oh they're not insults, sweetie; they're FACTS!" The girl taunted as she continued with her assault. Verbal and physical. "Let's face it, you're just an unappreciated secretary who's biggest threat is carpel tunnel syndrome," She used her S.T.O.P to twist the Yield sign to the side. "An overstressed mother who has to meet the demands of whiny spoiled brats," She brought the S.T.O.P to the left which Rachel blocked, but leaving herself wide open. "And most of all, a plain, rebound _tramp_!" As she proclaimed this, her foot rose up yet again to kick Rachel away. Laughing at how she was slipping.

Rachel slammed her Yield sign down to even herself. Her knuckles bleached white as they gripped the metal post, her strength threatening to snap it like a twig. "_What_?" She heatedly hissed out. Her face was set in a dark sneer, and her raging chocolate eyes appeared black with fury. The post of the Yield creaked silently as her hold seem to get tighter and crush it. She sent the heinous blonde a fiery glower that would've been enough to have the raging Fanny quivering in her boots.

However, Lehcar only took it in stride. "When compared to his ex, I can honestly say you're second rate." Her eyes then hooded over as a smug grin crawled up her cheeks. "Back when Nigel was still with Lizzie, he was able to tell her from Eizzil just like _that_." She emphasized with a snap of the fingers. Her hand containing the S.T.O.P carefully reeled behind her back, and her finger inched its way into the yo-yo ring attached to the bottom grip. "It took him all this time to figure out I wasn't you, and even _then_ I had to bluntly advertise it for him to get the hint!"

Rachel was seething as every single word that spewed from the blonde's mouth just increased her ire. Her hand gripping her weapon swung across her torso; the sign making a sharp whistle as it sliced through the air. "Anything else?" She snarled out; daring the girl to push her further.

Lehcar accepted the challenge as she lightly bent closer in the Supreme Leader's direction. She tardily batted her eyelashes, while letting out a low, throaty chuckle. "His lips taste _delicious_."

"ARRGGH!" Rachel growled out as she leapt for the baneful blonde. She violently hit the deck in front of her and went all out with her Yield sign. A righteous upwards strike. A furious descending slash. A mad horizontal swing. And a furious frontal charge. But they all were for nothing, for Lehcar mirthfully skipped around them all. As if she was in a joyful game of Double Dutch. It was how she blatantly mocked Rachel's skill. But the girl herself really didn't care about finesse and warrior like grace at the moment. All she really wanted to do – "HIYA!"

_BANG!_

– was bash Lehcar's face in. But that would prove hard to do. For in her rage, she lifted her Yield sign high, and slammed it down where Lehcar was supposed to be. But the fair haired negative only leaned to the side and let the sign crash into the computer terminal behind her. Lehcar rose, tsked and shook her head as she surveyed the damage Rachel caused. The Yield sign end had dug deep into the circuitry. Wires crackled with fading electricity, keys broke off and clinked to the floor, and any remains of the screen were cracked around the gaping hole in the center. Rachel looked on stunned while Lehcar only giggled.

"I'm not footing that bill." She then sadistically grinned as her hand shot behind Rachel and slammed her head down against the terminal. Her head bounced back up with a painful thunk and Lehcar reared her leg back. "But, I can _foot_ you!" After that, Rachel and anything she held went soaring across the room. Lehcar chuckled once more as she revealed her S.T.O.P. "And now, the finisher."

Her finger in the ring curled, and the blonde flicked the S.T.O.P out. A tight, stretchy pink string was shown as it pulled out from the bottom grip of the red stop sign. The S.T.O.P started to spin, and Lehcar reeled it back in only to flick it back out; similar to Lee and his yo-yo. With every new flick, the blades of the sing increased speed. She did this again and again, until finally a shrill whirring noise pierced the air as the S.T.O.P spun as rapidly as a buzz saw.

Rachel held her pulsing head as she tried to recover. She supposed that's what she got for losing her temper. Yet it worked so well for Fanny. She picked up her Yield sign, and hoisted it upwards to use as leverage. But she was taking by storm as Lehcar's S.T.O.P suddenly shot out, attached to a string that oddly looked like bubble gum. The spinning red sign twirled around her weapon, the string twisting around as well. Finally Lehcar pulled back and the Yield sign was jerked from her hand. She watched on bewildered as her foe twirled the string, then finally released it and let the Yield weapon fly off somewhere to the upper deck.

"Now it's all as it should be. Me, cornering you with something very, _very_, _sharp_." She giggled as she used her finger to twirl the buzzing S.T.O.P in the air. "Finally, some odds I like!" She proclaimed as she flicked her hand down, the S.T.O.P carving a deadly trail towards Rachel.

But weapon or no, Rachel would not let herself be easily deterred. The girl rolled to the side as the S.T.O.P tore through the floor. She then broke into a mad dash towards her opposite, but quickly readjusted her course when Lehcar flung the weapon towards her. She ducked, shifted, anything she could to avoid losing more then her hair. She suddenly caught sight of the sign spinning in her peripheral and prepared to skip over.

But her movements were too soon and while she escaped the sign itself, her toe was caught on the pink bubble gum string. Rachel lost balance and tripped, only catching herself on an incoming computer terminal. She mumbled incoherently in frustration, only to yelp and hoist herself onto the counter as the S.T.O.P skimmed the floor where her feet were.

"It's been fun, but in a few seconds, this whole place will be mine." Lehcar announced as she loomed closer to Rachel twirling her S.T.O.P weapon at a leisurely pace. "So that means you have to go bye-bye now."

Rachel frowned as her eyes searched for something she could use. She scooted up the counter trying to distance herself from the approaching blonde, but then she stopped when she caught sight of one of the swivel rolling chairs. Borrowing page from a certain reckless operative's handbook, she came up with a crazy scheme on the fly. "I'm not quite finished yet."

"Oh, but you're about to be." Lehcar sneered as she twirled her S.T.O.P for the final time. "Try not to struggle, I really don't want to clean up the mess." After that was said, she reared her arm back, and let the S.T.O.P fly.

And that was when Rachel made her last ditch effort. Shifting her weight onto her hands, she moved her legs to the side and used her feet to pull the swivel chair in front of her. Hoping it would do, she positioned it correctly and when the S.T.O.P neared, it tore into the chair. The stuffing material spewed everywhere as the blades cut into it, and before it could go completely through, Rachel spun the chair with all her might. Combined with the spinning of the S.T.O.P, the chair shook wildly as it twirled, collecting more bubble gum string with each new revolution. Finally, the gum became too much and the blades slowed to a halt as the sticky substance gunked it up.

"W-What!" Lehcar exclaimed surprised as she watched her attack fail. She then froze when she saw a smirking Rachel hop off the counter, and gain a good grip on the string connecting back to her. She fumbled with her finger, but her panicked, jerky movements made it impossible to remove to ring in time. "No No NO!"

"Yes, yes, YES!" Rachel grinned as she heaved with all her strength, tugging the blonde towards her. Lehcar came flying over, and as she got closer and closer, Rachel slid her right foot back and waited for the foe to reach her. "HIYA!" She cried out as her foot sprung up to kick Lehcar's face right when she appeared. As she went to crash land somewhere, Rachel spared a glance to the chair the S.T.O.P was buried in. After a moment to think it over, she narrowed her eyes as her hand stretched out.

Lehcar was pretty sure a truck had hit as she came to. That or a freight train. Or … something. Whatever it was had brought this monster of a migraine. A hand rose to lightly brush off her cheek, only to recoil at the sting. Ow! She was going to kill who ever did this! Her lids opened, revealing her sparking dark gaze to the world. She then looked around her to try and recall where she was. Let's see, counters lined with computers, a looming stairway leading to an upper deck, then there was the large glass that made up the ceiling of this dome like area. Was that Earth out there?

Oh. Right. The Moonbase. She just about to take it over. She leaned up, wincing at how it stimulated her sores. But it wouldn't matter. She had – Her eyes widened as the sharp end of her S.T.O.P was poised under her neckline. Then she slowly trailed upwards to see a glaring Rachel glowering down a her. "And where, pray tell, do you think you're going?"

It took a moment for the negative to get her wits about her before he laughed. "Oh, just about to go make sure my virus installed properly." She then spared a glance to the turrets trimming the walls. "Probably not. I don't hear your little friends getting blasted." She then pressed a finger against the S.T.O.P sign, lightly pushing it out of her face. "Now if you don't mind – "

"I _mind_." Rachel reaffirmed as she snapped the sign back, causing Lehcar to freeze. "Show's over. After I deal with your virus, I'll make sure to return the favor you did me earlier."

Lehcar flicked her look to the S.T.O.P and smirked darkly. "Right. Put me in a cell. That's what the rules say. But I think we both know what you REALLY want to do." She smoothly spoke, motioning to the S.T.O.P at her neck. "C'mon, do it. I dare you." Her smirk only grew when she saw the blonde tremble. Oh, she really did want to do it! "You better make sure I don't get away. Because I promise you, the Kids Next Door's days will be numbered if I do. So let go," She uttered, knowing that despite it all, Rachel wouldn't budge. "I would."

_BAM!_

Lehcar said no more as Rachel used one of the blunt sides of the S.T.O.P sign to knock her out cold. The negative blonde limped on the floor and Rachel harrumphed as she tossed the S.T.O.P sign to some far corner of the room. "Well I'm not you." She mumbled to the body before shaking her head. She then ran towards the stairs making her way back up to her terminal. She needed to stop that program from uploading.

As Rachel disappeared, the eyes of Lehcar suddenly snapped open. She growled as she sat up holding her head. That migraine? Think that increased eleventy billion fold. OW! But she shook it off and reached into her pouch. She pulled her hand out and smirked once she saw that she still had the Book of KND. Excellent. She hid the book away into another pouch on her orange sweater, and slowly trailed Rachel back up to the Global Command deck.

"Get the helmet!" Patton screamed as he held Nigel back. The bald boy was putting up a massive struggle and he didn't know how much longer he could hold him. The Arctic sergeant grunted when Nigel's elbows were shoved into his chest, but he would not falter. "Any time now!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOIN'?" Fanny shouted as she tried to yank the Boyfriend Helmet off. She tried wiggling her finger underneath, but it was like the blasted thing was _apart_ of Nigel. His Veins pulsed wildly around the rimming, and the tubes zapped her every time she pulled. The thing had a tight hold on the boy and thanks to it's design, it wasn't about to let go. Fanny kept trying nonetheless, but already saw it as a futile effort. "It's useless! The darn thing won't budge!"

Patton groaned as he felt his grip slipping. He bent his knees a tad lower and tried to keep his arms under Nigel's. His eyes then peeked down to analyze the helmet and they stayed glued to the spot the red head had kicked earlier. That was when inspiration struck. "If you can't...take it off then...HGN! BREAK IT OFF!" He shouted when the Brit became more aggressive.

Fanny paused, wondering if she heard right. After hearing no protest, a face splitting grin broke out. "_That_, I can do!" She balled her fists together and rose them up to deliver the blow. "I've been wanting to do this for a _loooong_ time!"

Nigel tensed as he looked up to Fanny. Then suddenly the helmet sent another crippling surge through his system. His muscles spasmed, and that sharp, screeching whisper in the back of his mind returned. It commanded, it demanded that he move to stop her. The sound of it fueled his rage and it never stopped. It drove him mad! "GRRRAAAH!" He bellowed as he preformed a barrage of blind kicks, eventually brushing Fanny away. He then jerked his arms down, and shook Patton off as well. As soon as he regained his bearings, he looked over to the down Fanny and growled as he stomped over to her.

Patton got to his knees as he shook the pain off. Even though he had spoke out when Fanny had stated it, he himself couldn't believe that Numbuh 1 was giving them both this much of a hassle. Probably because he didn't want to risk severely injuring the kid. He really didn't want to be demoted to janitorial duty because he gave the Supreme Leader's boyfriend a concussion. As he thought of the Commander, he couldn't hold back a yelp as her trademark weapon embedded itself in the floor beside him.

"YAH!" He jumped as he looked to the right. Numbuh 362's Yield sign. It just, came out of nowhere and landed beside him. What gives? His attention then snapped back to Nigel, who was as of the moment, about to attack Fanny while she was recovering. The driller felt his fist clench at the idea, but as he spared another look to Rachel weapon, he thought up a plan.

"When I get ma hands on that no good..." Fanny grumbled to herself as she held her ribs. Forget what Patton said, when she got up she was going to break every single bone in that bald, cocky jerk's body! But then her eyes widened as someone yanked her up by the collar of her shirt. Her face then paled as her eyes met the seemingly blank ones of Nigel's. "Aw crud."

"Heh heh heh." Nigel brokenly chuckled as he lifted his free hand up. "Say...goodnight – "

_THWACK!_

"AH!" The boy shrieked as he suddenly dropped her. Fanny looked back up to Nigel to see him grasping his head in pain. The Boyfriend Helmet itself popped and frizzed as a large noticeable crack made its way straight down the middle. Finally, the helmet died as it crumpled into to teeny tiny bits that rained down around Nigel. "Ugh..." The bald boy groaned to himself. He slowly dropped to his knees before dropping down unconscious. With him down, Fanny could clearly see Patton standing, holding the Yield sign like a bat.

The driller stayed ever vigilant as he watched Numbuh 1 convulse. After the helmet broke away and Nigel had fallen to the floor did he heave a bone weary sigh and drop the 2x4 melee weapon. "One down."

Fanny glanced down at Nigel, who was only moaning. "Yeah." Fanny muttered as she stood. She looked toward the Brit, then Patton who was still staring at the operative he just took down. Realizing he probably just saved her skin, a hand reached back to awkwardly scratch under her helmet. "Erm, thanks. I guess."

Patton glanced up to Fanny and only nodded. "Don't mention it. I'm used to looking after your hind."

Any sincerity she had thought about giving him burned away as her fire flared back up. "I don't need some BOY to watch my back! So mind yer own business!" She huffed as she turned away grumbling.

Numbuh 60 only sighed. "Whatever. Look, you used to be a medic. Check him to make sure I didn't cause any brain damage or something." He stressed, not wanting to get fussed at if Nigel woke up not being to spell his own name.

Fanny didn't even bat an eyelash. She held no sympathy for the boy twitching at her feet. "He'll be fine. No doubt he'll wake up with headache thanks to the helmet." She let out a small 'tch' as she turned so she could fully address Patton. "You cracking him upside the skull will make it a wee bit worse, but he's been needing someone to knock some sense into him for a while. I jus' wish it was me."

"Right." Patton replied, deciding he really didn't want to go any further into it. His eyes lazily trailed over the floor, but then widened once he saw the Yield sign. "Crud! Numbuh 362, she could be in trouble!"

Fanny blinked before preparing to vault over the side. "Then what are ye standing there like an idiot for? We need to help her!"

"I got it covered, thanks!" Rachel quickly babbled out as she ran passed the two, stumping them into confusion. But the blonde didn't stop to answer, she kept going until she reached her Supreme Terminal.

"Let's see, what did she do?" She grumbled with scrunched up brows as she opened multiple windows. She then slammed her fists down when she found Lehcar's program was almost fully integrated into the system. "Darn it! I can't shut it down in time!" Her nails clacked against the hardwood, wondering how she could stop it. "How in the world did she get into the system in the first place?" She questioned out loud.

" …irewall… " A voice mumbled from behind. Rachel looked back, while Fanny and Patton looked down to Nigel, who had somehow managed to regain consciousness. His eyes opened weakly behind his shades, and he tried to point towards the terminal. " …F… fire…w…wall… "

"Firewall?" Rachel repeated to herself. Then something clicked and she got it. "Firewall!" She then snapped back to the computer and tried to gain access to the security program. "Computer, reboot Anti-Bad Stuff Firewall Protocol!"

:ACCESS DENIED. PLEASE STATE SUPREME OVERRIDE PASSWORD:

"W-What?" Rachel mumbled with a light blush. A small mic popped off the side of the terminal and her blush darkened a few notches as she realized the computer wanted her to state her password _verbally_. She tugged at the collar of her sweater as she leaned in to mumble her password. "…"

:PLEASE STATE SUPREME OVERRIDE PASSWORD:

"I just said it!"

"It probably didn't hear you!" Patton suggested as he and Fanny stepped back. Lehcar's program was almost uploaded, and the turrets were beginning to lock on their forms. "Hurry up and say it before we get blasted!"

Rachel's eyes continued to shift as she mumbled her password a tad louder. "…mmm…"

:_PLEASE _STATE SUPREME OVERRIDE PASSWORD:

"Fine! I suppose I _haven't_ been humiliated enough today!" She groaned as she rested her head on her fist; dryly overlooking the whole deck. "Supreme Leader authorization password: brit1luver362." She droned out, only thankful she could change the stupid thing later. But not before she had the science nerds find a way to debug the system. Computers can feel pain, right?

:SECURITY OVERRIDE HAS BEEN APPROVED. ANTI-BAD STUFF FIREWALL HAS BEEN REACTIVATED:

:BAD STUFF HAS BEEN DETECTED. NOW DELETING MALWARE:

Rachel looked at the flickering screen to see a small Pac-Man figure munching up data that represented the malicious software. As the system fought back, an error message flashed over the screen loading Lehcar's program into the mainframe. Her hand graced over the mouse and moved to close the screen for good. Sighing in relief that the worst had passed. "Thank Zero."

Patton and Fanny lowered their guard as the turrets above them twitched and repealed back into their places. While the Global Tactical Officer cheered in victory, the Arctic Commander glanced towards Rachel with a smug grin. "Brit lover, eh?"

"What's that Numbuh 60? Why of course you can spend the next week scrubbing toilets at the Deep Sea Lab. I'll fill out the transfer sheets on Monday." She replied without looking back, in no mood for his snide little jokes right now. The girl leaned against the railing and closed her eyes to take in the peace. "It's finally over."

"Oh, I'm only getting started!"

_BAP!_

"AAH!" Rachel yelped as a fist shot out from the other side of the railing. She filled to the floor then looked up with surprise to see Lehcar climbing over the side. "You!"

"Miss me?" The blonde giggled as she flipped herself over. Before Rachel could react, Lehcar stomped her foot down on her chest. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned down to grin right in the wheezing blonde's face. "Congratulations. You managed to beat me once." She then snarled as she reached behind to pull out her S.T.O.P sign she had found. "But sadly, that's one time too many."

Fanny quickly acted the moment Lehcar reappeared. Her hand shot out for the closest weapon, which turned out to be Rachel's Yield post, and cocked it back preparing to throw it like a spear. "Back off ye faker before I send ya flying past the Ridiculous Barrier!" She threatened, Patton standing ready beside her.

"How about _you_ back off, banshee?" Lehcar growled as she pressed the blade of the S.T.O.P into Rachel's neck. "Unless you want me to dissect your Supreme Leader, I suggest you give me some space!" She ordered, smirking in confidence once they nervously complied. "Now that's more – "

"Leave Numbuh 362 alone you no good rainbow monkey stealer mcstealerpants!"

All figures shared a astounded blink when the light voice called out from nowhere. Lehcar rose up to where she guessed it originated from. "I'm a _what_ – BWH!" She spluttered as a teddy bear collided with her face. She then threw the doll to the floor uncaring, not even effected by the cute cooing sound it made when it hit the deck. "Who's doing- AAH!" She hissed as something slapped the S.T.O.P out of her wrist. Using the teddy bear as a distraction, Rachel managed to disarm Lehcar and jump back on the offensive. She swung her arm to knock her off her legs, and quickly got to her own feet while the other girl went down. She then slid behind her and jerked her upwards, tightly gripping her wrist. "Ow ow ow OW! Watch the pinky!"

"Shut up." Rachel pointedly spat as she contained her opposite. "Great work with the diversion Numbuh...Numbuh 3?" To her surprise, the chipper oriental was standing in the doorway of Global Command; along with the rest of Sector V as well. Kuki glared at Lehcar while steadying her teddy bear launching T.H.U.M.P.E.R, to her right was Wally hoisting twin M.U.S.K.E.T.s, Hoagie stood at the opposite end with his net firing T.A.N.G.L.E.R, and Abby took charge in front with a S.C.A.M.P.P. "Sector V? What are you guys doing here?"

Abby was about to answer, but a furious Kuki beat her to it. "We came here to get back my Wubzie Wuv Time Rainbow Monkey from that no good thief!" She swore cocking her T.H.U.M.P.E.R for another shot. "So hand her over, or the next teddy won't be so cute and cuddly!"

Hoagie lowered his weapon as he nervously chuckled. "Heh heh. Uh, you'll have to excuse her, m'am. The only way we could convince her to come was by saying Negative 362 stole her doll."

Kuki processed the pilot's words, and dropped her T.H.U.M.P.E.R with a saddening pout. "So…you don't have Wubzie?"

Lehcar gushed with excitement. "No, but I wish I did. I _LOVE_ rainbow monkeys!" She proclaimed while Rachel shifted her eyes.

Patton ignored the exchange as he faced Sector V. "So you guys know the situation?"

Wally smirked as he twirled the M.U.S.K.E.T.s on his fingers. "We know, and we're ready to go!"

"Oh well thanks for showing up when it's OVER!" Fanny mocked as her hands fled to her hips. "If you misfits woulda shown up sooner we coulda had this handled on the spot! But _nooo_! Sector V always has to take their sweet time and show up at the huge climax! Well so sorry, but ya just missed it!"

Abby frowned as she lowered her S.C.A.M.P.P. "Don't you be starting with ME, girl. We _just_ now heard about this thang and we came as quick as we could."

"Yeah, and do you know how hard it is to rig the K.O.L.O.S.S.A.L.I.N.E.R to handle orbital space travel?" Hoagie butted in. "Jumbo Taffy ME-45 stabilizers are not equipped for zero-gravity. And don't get me started on finding a parking space for something _that_ massive..."

Lehcar growled as the chubby boy went on. "I'm surrounded by _Positives_." Her eyes then narrowed as she remembered who she recalled seeing with the pilot and fighter at the treehouse. "Well, not completely. Come on out you little brat! I _know_ you're there to rub it in!"

"How perceptive of you." A young voice spoke out from behind the four kids. Abby sidestepped and out came Numbuh 363, excuse me, Numbuh _Negative_ 363. The small boy stood with a blank look on his face and he arched a brow as he regraded Lehcar. "Greetings, sister. I see your time at the Equator Prison hasn't improved your attitude."

Lehcar mouthed her brother's words before she stuck out her tongue. "Come say that closer to my face, Yevrah."

"Yevrah?" Rachel uttered perplexed. She then decided she would label this as 'Weirdest Day Ever', stuff it in a file, load it into a cannon, and fire it at the freaking sun so she can pretend it NEVER happened. "I am seriously too young to be dealing with all this."

"You have my sincerest apologizes for any harm she has caused you, Numbuh 362." Yevrah polity spoke out. "Had I been a tad bit quicker, this whole ordeal could have been avoided."

Hoagie shook his head in amazement. "Seriously, can we keep him?"

"Why in the world did they send _you_ of all people?" Lehcar hatefully mumbled as she glared in her brother's direction. "Your sector has the longest mission failed streak in the entire DNK!"

"It's officially, NKND, now," Yevrah corrected. "And I felt it was my personal responsibility to make sure you didn't wreak havoc, since we share the unfortunate curse of being related. That, and it doesn't hurt to have the title of 'Best Loved Agent' under your belt." He let himself brag as he dusted off his knuckles. "But nonetheless sister, the jig is up. Game over. Go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred Yipper cards."

Lehcar sneered at all the operatives around here. Patton and Fanny were standing around Nigel, who was shakingly trying to get up, her strutting peacock of a brother was safely backed up by the heavily armed Sector V. And Rachel had her held down. But then her eyes gleamed as she thought of one old and tired trick to pull in this type of situation.

"Interesting choice of words, brother. Allow me to to do this as a rebuttal!" While Rachel's hold was slackened, she jerked free and pulled the surprised blonde close to her. She then smirked as she pulled her down onto the floor, the two tumbling a few feet away before they stopped.

After a few minutes of struggle, one of the Rachels kicked the other away and leapt up with a snarl. "Nice try, but you're an idiot to think you can pull that on me!" She then quickly snapped to the others. "Quick! Subdue her before she tries it again!"

"What!" The other Rachel spoke bewildered as she stood. "No! _She's_ Negative 362! Not me!" She then pressed her hands to her chest as she tried to get them to see it was indeed the real her. "I'm the Positive!"

"No, I am!"

"No, _I_ am!"

"Aw crud." Wally groaned as he slapped his head. "Even _I _saw this comin'!"

"Well you didn't do anything to stop it, now did you?" Abby sourly stated as she leaned on her S.C.A.M.P.P. "So what do we do now?"

"Oh! Oh! I know!" Kuki then squinted her eyes as she pointed between the arguing Rachels. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a monkey – "

"Uh, Numbuh 3? I don't think we can afford to risk that." Patton interrupted.

The Asian then shrugged as she sat down Indian style. "Well then I'm out of ideas."

However, Hoagie had been paying very close attention when the two blondes entered their scuffle. After a moment, he lifted up his T.A.N.G.L.E.R with a smirk. "Well then allow me to, 'split' the image. Hehehe." He chuckled while the other let out a collective groan. He then locked his sights on the Rachel to the left, but then shook his head and switched to the right. But before he could pull the trigger, he second guessed himself and switch back to the left. But he had a gut feeling about the right. Although the left was... "Uh, never mind." He sheepishly muttered as he gazed to the floor.

Fanny pinched the bridge of her nose as she turned to Yevrah. "You! Negative boy. Which one of the lasses is your stupid sister?"

Yevrah rose a brow. "What am I? Her keeper?"

"Numbuh 5 can't believe this." Abby muttered into her hand. "There's gotta be someone who can tell the difference."

"Why do you guys have to talk so loud?" A British accented voice rung out. The children then glanced to the side as a twiddly Nigel came into the waking world. His scalp was charred from the Boyfriend Helmet overload, and was clutching his head in pain. Good thing his shades blocked out the harsh light. He got a grip on the railing as he tried to jump back into the situation. "What's going on? Did we win?"

Patton spared a look over to the two Rachels, who were snarling and shooting glares at the other. He surmised that it would only be a matter of time before they would be jumping each other again. "There's a few complications."

"Yea," Wally agreed as he bobbed his head. "We don't know which one is our 362!" He explained pointing to the two blondes.

Nigel arched a brow as he glanced over to them. He analyzed the one on the left, frowning at what he saw. Her fists were balling in outrage, and her eyes trimmed with spite. Those hate filled pupils were not Rachel's. He then looked over to the right and smiled. Her stance radiated more control and levelheadedness, and the most negative sparkle in her orbs was the frustration of a leader. One he was all too familiar with. That and her cheeks were subtly bulging as they tend to do when she's angry.

Nigel quickly pointed out before things got even more out of hand. "The one on the left! That's Negative 362!"

"Wha?" Lehcar snapped as she heard someone figure her out. "Which one of you idiots said – GAH!" She screamed as Hoagie fired off a green net from his T.A.N.G.L.E.R. The lime wiring wrapped around her form on instant contact, and soon she toppled over like a tower as she failed to support herself. She hit the floor with a groan and was forced into an embarrassing wiggle. Upon realizing her escape efforts were futile, she craned her neck to glare at the Brit who figured her out. "How did you know?"

"You managed to fool me once, but that was because there was nothing else to compare to." He then looked over to Rachel's direction and conveyed a smug smile. "But when standing next to my girlfriend, there's no doubt about which set of eyes I fell for." He proclaimed, feeling elated when Rachel returned with a warm gesture.

Lehcar on the other hand, gagged and rolled her eyes. "I hate sentimental cliches." She grumbled heatedly. The blonde then let out a yelp as a smirking Rachel pressed her foot down on her.

"I guess that means you'll also hate the cliché of the prisoner going to jail?"

* * *

After witnessing multiple hectic ordeals in the same daily span, the sun had finally retreated into the vastness of the horizon. The beams of fading orange light flickered in and out against the Virginian hillside, adding a yellowish haze to the purplish evening backdrop. The children of the suburban area were being called inside by their worrisome mothers, but they didn't complain. It was Saturday night, which meant it was time to stay up for the soda guzzling activities! Everyone was winding down, even the highest of the Kids Next Door; who at the moment was wrapping up business.

At the Beatles residence, Wally stepped out of his glass patio door to the backyard. He turned to close the pathway, and pulled the curtains so no straying adult eyes would catch a glimpse of what transpired. He heaved a sigh and turned to the others as he scratched his golden hair. "Can we hurry this up? Mum says dinner is almost ready."

Yevrah rose a hand to pacify the Aussie. "We won't be troubling you much longer. My transport should be arriving shortly." The short dirt blond negative stood on the edge of Wally's sand covered pool with Rachel, Nigel, and his sister Lehcar in tow. The negative blonde stood at his side, her hands cuffed in some braces he brought along. The girl stood oddly calm despite her capture, but she glared at all present company with a sharp sneer to keep face. Yevrah turned away from Wally to Rachel and gave a salute. "I cannot thank you enough for your assistance, Numbuh 362. You've done more then I've done my whole time here."

Rachel nodded with a small smile. "Think nothing of it. I needed a little workout to get back into shape." She smugly stated, much to Lehcar's chagrin.

The boy nodded as he looked over to Nigel, who at the moment was holding a small ice back to his head. "And again, sorry for the damage Numbuh 1. I'd hoped to avoid this. But it seems I'm slacking in that area."

Nigel dimly smiled at Negative 363's modesty. "It's nothing to worry about, even the best operatives get sloppy every once in a while."

"You would know huh?" Rachel joked with a smirk. She then turned to her opposite and allowed her face to morph into frown. "As for you, I only regret that I won't be shoving you in my prison. But I suppose I can rest much easier knowing you're worlds away."

Lehcar continued to glare at the girl before a grin broke out. "Oh, this is _far_ from over, Rachel. I won't be held back for long. You'll be seeing more of me." She stated, as if knowing some big secret. "That I assure you."

"Empty threats at best." Yevrah snipped as he tugged at her collar. "As soon as we get back, we're sealing this gateway permanently. With cold hard cement. We can't risk anymore fugitives bothering our Positive allies." As he said this, the ground began to rumble and he looked back to the pool with a grin. "Ah, here it is." Slowly but surely, a metal device resembling an enlarged P.I.P.E.P.O.D emerged from the depths of the sand. The grainy materiel smoothly drifted off the pod, and the bay door hissed upon, lowering down into a stairway. Yevrah gripped his sister's cuffs and dragged her up the side. "Farewell, Numbuh 1, Numbuh 4, Numbuh 362. If by the slim chance we meet again, let's hope it's under far better circumstances."

Lehcar glowered down at the three as the pod bay door retreated up to close. Before she disappeared from sight, she smirked and winked in Nigel's direction. "See ya soon, honey." She laughed, it echoing behind as he pod crawled back down from whence it came.

Nigel looked down at the sand with a glare as he held his rapidly melting ice pack. As he thought of Lehcar, he felt the urge to repress a shudder. "Good riddance to bad rubbish."

"Hear hear." Rachel quietly uttered in agreement. She turned to spare a look towards the Brit, carefully analyzing his injuries. "How ya holding up, solider?"

"No need to fret, m'am." Nigel sighed as he lowered the ice pack. Funny, he didn't think it would melt that quick. "The only thing really wounded is my pride." His eyes flicked over to her and filled with regret over his actions. "I screwed up big time."

"Hmm," Rachel mummered as she looked him over with a stoic look. Nigel stood tall and awaited punishment, but the blonde only surprised him by turning away towards the fence door. "Come on and walk me home. Dad would have a conniption if he thought I was walking the streets alone."

The boy sighed with a bit of relief. At least she was still willing to talk with him. He then fell in step to join her, but not before waving off Wally. "Have a nice weekend, Numbuh 4."

"See ya around, mate." Wally nodded back as he watched the couple disappear behind the fence. He then opened the door to his home, and grinned to himself when the aroma of his mom's cooking filtered into his senses. "Heh heh, meat-pies here I – "

"Wally!"

He jumped as the female voice took him by surprise. And that surprise morphed into slight fear when he saw Kuki marching up to him. "K-Kuki!" He nervously greeted as she approached, backing up into his home when she got closer. "What, uh, brings ya here?"

"It's hopeless, Wally." The girl cried as she lowered her head. "I've looked _everywhere_ and I still can't find Wubzie Wuv Time Rainbow Monkey! I don't know where else to search!" She sniffed, wondering where her poor little doll could be.

Wally sweated as he heard the girl's despair. "Aw, that's a real shame." He muttered, only feel a tad guilty. But there was no flipping way he was telling her what really happened to it! If she found out he roasted her toy, she might try and do the same with him. Besides, she just admitted it was useless to keep looking for it. She would mope for a day or two then buy another one. "So...what are ya gonna do now?"

"I'm at the end of my rope, so I decided to make these posters to help." She reached behind her back to pull out a sheet of paper with a crudely drawn yellow rainbow monkey with purple heart shape designs scattered all over it. She then reached into her other pocket and produced a decent wad of cold hard cash. "I'm offering a twenty dollar reward to anyone who can find Wubzie, or has any idea what happened to her. No questions asked." She sniffled, becoming that desperate.

Wally however, centered his attention on the big glob of money the moment Kuki pulled it out. His lips twitched as he thought of all the marvelous things he could be with that moolah. He then shifted his eyes back and forth as he thought up a quick plan.

Maybe it was time he gently broke to her the truth about Wubzie.

"I threw your cruddy doll in the incinerator." Wally bluntly explained as his hand snapped out to snatch the reward he was due. He then stepped back into his house, and closed the door on Kuki, who's face was frozen in a comic fusion of shock, horror, and disbelief. The Aussie smiled to himself as he counted up the bills in his hand. He then made a turn to the kitchen deciding to get some grub. He sure was hungry. And sure, he knew Kuki was most likely going to kill him when she snapped out of her stupor.

But at least he would die rich.

* * *

Further down the street away from the raging Asian threatening to break down the door, Nigel and Rachel walked at the comfortable pace back to the blonde's home. The girl sighed as she glanced towards the sky, the figure of the moon starting to appear in the glittering evening sky. It was hard to imagine that only a week ago she was just walking out of her date.

"I'm sorry, Rachel." The Brit broke the silence with an apology. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he kicked at he pavement. "I should have been more aware and noticed she was deceiving me."

The blonde flicked her gaze to the side as he said that. "We all could have paid a bit more attention." She mumbled, probably thinking none of this would have happened had she noticed someone had snuck into her office. "Look, she fooled everyone so nothing to worry about. It's over now."

"But she shouldn't have fooled _me_." Nigel pointed out. "What kind of a boyfriend can't even tell apart his girlfriend from a cheap knock off?"

Rachel didn't respond instantly to that. She would be lying if she said it didn't hurt. The fact it took Nigel that long to figure it Lehcar wasn't her. "How...how was she able to pull one over you in the first place?" She asked, unable to hold it back any longer.

"Me being an idiot I suppose." The boy mumbled. "I played it off as you having a long day at the moonbase, then finally coming to the conclusion you were acting out because you were upset with me."

"Why would I be upset?"

"I had thought you had taken me calling you 'uptight' to heart."

"Ah." Rachel uttered in understanding as she nodded. A hand flicked up to twiddle with her hair, and she let out a depressed sigh. "Well...I have been thinking about that. It's been on my mind a lot actually."

"Then please allow me to put it to rest." Nigel stopped as he blocked Rachel's path. "I never meant it the way you implied. I really didn't mean it at all. That was just me being a jerk and acting a tad jealous."

"You're not a jerk Nigel." Rachel softly uttered. She then blinked as she rethought that last bit. "Wait...jealous?"

"A taste of my own medicine I suppose." He sighed as he looked down. "I was mostly worried; seeing you overworking yourself into a jittering nervous wreck tears me to pieces. But I'll admit I was a tad jealous you were thinking of how things were at the moonbase more then our date." As Nigel admitted this, somewhere, Lizzie felt the strange urge to laugh. The irony.

Rachel herself couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her lips. "Wow. Nigel Uno jealous of the Kids Next Door. Surely a sign of the apocalypse." She then shook her head as she became serious. "But you have to understand, Nigel. I am the Supreme Leader. I would love nothing more to spend a personal retreat with you to somewhere as inviting as Sector J, but, my job has to come before us most of the time. I made an oath to millions of kids when I stepped into that office."

The Brit nodded as he put a hand gently on her shoulder. "I know. And should a time come, I want you to make sure your duty comes before me. Because I don't want to be with some lazy, selfish, uncaring witch. I only want to be with you. The strict Ms Boss-lady who is the Supreme Leader of the KND and my heart."

Rachel warmly beamed as she let her fingers interlock with Nigel's own. "Now that's what I want to hear." The two then continued their path down the street, only this time more closer and their hands firmly joined to together. After a moment, Rachel giggled as she thought of something. "Though I'll admit I can loosen up in some areas. I actually think I'll let Herbert keep his little promotion." She slyly grinned, the prospect of nipping her breeding paperwork sounding oh so alluring. "With a few refinements, of course."

Nigel chuckled. "I suppose that's the only thing you two agree on."

"Don't count on it." Rachel scoffed at the thought of Lehcar. "I certainly won't miss her."

"I'll miss Yevrah though. He is so much more preferable then Harvey." Nigel admitted, arching a brow at Rachel's frown. "What?"

"HEY SIS!" A loud voice shouted out behind them. They turned to see Harvey himself trotting up. Only stopping when he was right in front of his sister. "Hey sis! Mom says ya gotta come home cuz Uncle Seth is here."

Nigel groaned. "Ah, Numbuh 363. We were just chatting about you."

"Yeah. Hate you too, Uno." The boy waved off as he focused solely on Rachel. "So you coming home now?"

"Sure." Rachel nodded. "But where have you been all day, Harvey? I thought you were still at your sector's treehouse?"

The boy suddenly got bubbly as he prepared to brag about what he had managed to accomplish during the day. "Yeah! And you won't believe how I saved my team's butts! We were-"

"Can you please make your voice less annoying?" Nigel grumbled from the side holding his head. "I've got a bad enough headache."

Harvey forced a smile to the bald kid. "Oh I'm sorry." He then sucked in a deep breath and cupped his hand over his mouth. "_IS THIS BETTER_?"

"Why you little – "

"That's enough! Both of you!" Rachel snapped. She turned to her boyfriend, "Numbuh 1, don't provoke him." Then her brother, "And Harvey, please don't start anything. We've been through a lot these past few hours."

"Aw!" The boy whined as he started to fuss. "Doesn't anyone wanna hear about what _I_ did today?"

"No."

"Nigel..." Rachel warned. She then smiled down at her younger sibling and lightly patted his shoulder. "Why don't you start, Harvey?"

"Alright!" He cheered. This was why only _she_ could touch him. "So were at the treehouse and Numbuhs 83 and 85 were arguing about something stupid. But being the awesome sector leader I am, I went to over to settle it. But then Gramma Stuffum barges in out of nowhere riding on this weird Flying Spaghetti Monster…"

Nigel rolled his eyes as he tuned out Harvey. Not caring to hear how he exaggerated his stories to make himself appear great. He just wanted to get home and put this day behind him. Rachel had regained control, Lehcar was on a one way trip to a holding cell, and he was back trapped dealing with his girlfriend's irritating brother. Everything was as it should be. But even though it was over, something wouldn't stop nipping at the back of his mind. Like he had forgotten about something in the chaos...

Eh, probably just the headache.

* * *

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**End Transmission.

* * *

**

**Longest thing I've written...ever. I hope it kept you entertained!**

**Numbuh Phenon, signing out.  
**


	8. Be010100Tra0101101sion01000

**...**

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**001010101-IN-0101010010-INCO-0101010-**

**Incoming Transmission

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**

Negative 363, or Yevrah as some might prefer to call him, couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved. It wasn't the rough rumbling of his shuttle as it traveled the space between worlds. No, that rattling was music to his ears. It meant that his trip was going well. No, that didn't bother him.

His sister's never faltering smirk on the other hand…

The dirt blond stood with his hands squared away behind his back; his face stoic as he waited for them to arrive back home. He stood still, and so did Lehcar. That worried him. He slowly trailed over to see the blonde out of the corner of his eye; leaning against the wall of the small room. A golden bang obscured her eyes, but he could feel her ever present stare. Then that sinister smirk. It hadn't left her face since the left the Positive Realm. He didn't see what there was to be so chipper about. Her hands were securely cuffed, her 4x2 weapons had been confiscated and disabled. And once they reached the Negaverse, there would be a whole platoon of NKND soldiers to escort her to prison.

So why was she smiling?

After few more tense moments, Yevrah finally crinkled his lips as he turned his head slightly. "Why so silent sister?" He questioned despite knowing he would never get a straight answer. "You were more, shall we say _vocal_ the last time this occurred."

The girl stayed silent before answering with a chuckle. "Maybe I've learned my lesson. Take my punishment like a good little girl."

The boy frowned as he chose to ignore that. "I highly doubt that." He turned to stare out the shuttle's window to watch the scenery fly by. The spectrum of space outside wavered in hues of watery blue and and pale lime. But even that couldn't help him shake the feeling something was wrong. Very wrong. "Have a special someone waiting on your cell-block, maybe?"

"You might say that." Lehcar teased before breaking out into a laugh. "It's really tearing you up isn't it?"

Yevrah glared at his older sibling as the shuttle came to a halt. When they had completely stopped, he walked up to the pod's door and typed in the input code. "The only thing tearing me up is that you aren't behind bars yet." The door latched off with a hiss as he began to lower down slowly. "Now come on. The sooner this is settled, the easier I can rest."

Lehcar kicked off the wall as she trailed behind Yevrah. As the door inched open, the blonde's eyes gleamed as she leaned down to whisper in her brother's ear. "You better bundle up, I expect it to be very _nippy_ outside."

"Wha – GAH!" The boy yelped as Lehcar hiked her foot up and kicked him down the pod door stairs. Yevrah grunted and moaned as he tumbled down, and when he finally hit the ground, he was utterly shocked to find it bone chillingly cold and he sliding across it. His fingers dug into the frozen grass and snapped his head up to ask what had happened. But then he paled as he witnessed the destruction around him. "N-No…"

The whole area was in icy ruins. The security station around the pool totaled and transformed into a blistering tundra. The supports of the tower were in splinters, the hub itself falling down to be impaled upon a large ice spear that erupted from the Earth. The boy looked towards the Seltaeb's house to see that it had been destroyed. Giant looming ice spears prodded out of random places of the abode. Windows were shattered, doors creaked off their hinges, and roof tilings were hanging dimly across the remains of the caved in walls.

Yevrah couldn't comprehend it. The whole Positive Portal outpost looked as if a wild hurricane had struck. A hurricane with serious hail issues. "W-Why?" He muttered in disbelief as he started to back away. "Who would do such a – AAAHH!" He screamed in fright when he backed into something cold. Yevrah snapped around only to fall to his hind in horror as he saw what had befallen his comrades.

Frozen to the bone like crystal sculptures.

He frantically crawled away from the unmoving ice coated girl who had tried to escape. He looked around him to see everyone had shared their fate. A group of elites were frozen while aiming their rifles, trying to defend the others to no avail. Some kids had fallen to the ground before they met the same demise. Their arms were flung up in defensive positions; their faces locked in fear as they begged and pleaded before they were reduced to masses of ice. Negative 363 finally managed to stand. But still shell-shocked that all his teammates, all his friend were gone.

"Woo!" He snapped his head to Lehcar who had calmly stepped down from the pod. The blonde surveyed the area herself before she let a insane giggle spill from her lips. "Chilly tonight, dontcha think?"

"You." Yevrah hissed, his voice tinged with pure hate. His hand snapped to his blaster and he steadied right for Lehcar's head. He held no love for his spawn of a sibling before, but now after _this_… "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Who me?" She gushed innocently as she shuffled her toes as if she were a shy schoolgirl. "I didn't do anything."

Yevrah growled as he lost the last bit of his patience. "THAT'S IT! As a Neo Kids Next Door operative, I'm going to do what should've been done a long time ago – AAH!" He stiffened as a freezing hand clenched down upon his scalp. Cold nails dug into his forehead and he could feel the sensation crawl down the length of his body. He dropped his blaster, completely paralyzed. His orbs shifted around wildly, but stopped when an older female voice droned out.

"So you wish to imitate the Kids Next Door?" A woman idly questioned as Yevrah felt himself freeze over. "Then if you wish to bare their same responsibility, then I hope you are ready to bare their same punishment." Mother coldly stated as her hand reeled back to her person. She arched a thin white brow as the frozen Yevrah tipped over, crashing into the ground below. "Your brother seems to lacking in balance, dear."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don't know." Lehcar grumbled as she struggled to free herself from her cufflinks. She blew her bangs out of her vision as she prepared to demand Mother's help. But any retort died when an icy blade entered her vision. "W-Wha?"

"Forgive me dear, but it seems my mind is slipping." Mother strictly replied as she used one hand to wave her ice blade around while the other held a compact mirror to check her complexion. Tsk, was that another blemish? She had better be getting a refund on that makeup. Her sharp eyes suddenly flicked to Lehcar who was cowering under her spear. "I don't recall giving you permission to seize control of the moonbase."

Lehcar swallowed heavily. Crud. She was worried she would be…upset about that. "B-But I thought I would go ahead a secure my payment! I didn't mean anything against you!"

"For your sake, you better hope Father is more forgiving." Mother uttered as she inched the cold blade closer. "But then there is the fact you were trying to claim your reward before you even completed your assignment."

Lehcar's eyes widened. Fearful of that blade getting any closer. "B-But I did! I've got it right here!" She quickly pleaded motioning to her pouch. She looked up hopeful, only to flinch back and clenched her lids tight with fear when she saw Mother raise her hand up. She heard the sound of the ice cutting through air and thought it was over.

_CLINK!_

The blonde blinked with confusion. She felt no searing pain. Nor had the profound feeling her guts were spewing forth. She then jumped with surprise when she realized that her hands were free. She gripped her wrists; rubbing the soreness out of them while sparing a glance to the broken cuffs. They laid against the frosty grass in two separate pieces. The cut was so fine it was hard to believe it had been cut at all. That could have been her! She then turned to look up towards Mother as she held her hand out expectantly. No more words were uttered as Lehcar reached into her pouch, producing the Book of KND she still had in her possession.

"Ah, excellent." Mother stoically praised as she felt the worn cover in her pale hands. Her eyes twinkled with mild amusement as she instantly began flipping through pages. Confident of what she was looking for. _'Finally. After all this time'_ She thought mirthfully as she tore a single page out. The woman stowed the book into her blue purse as she read over the parchment from long ago.

Lehcar felt awkward as Mother became engrossed into her readings. As if she forgot the world around her. The blonde fiddled with a stray lock of her hair and hummed a short tune to herself. But then she fidgeted when Mother's hand snapped out again.

"Go wait in the pod, deary." Mother ordered, her voice filled with devious delight that made her want to shudder. "I shall be along momentarily." The blonde obeyed, not wanting to upset the woman, and trotted up the pod's stairs as Mother whipped out a communication device. "I have it." She breathed into the device.

"_That is most delightful news to hear._" The smooth voice of Father chuckled out from the other end. "_My efforts have been most fruitful, but I'm afraid I cannot find a trace of this Professor Kintobor person you're so gosh-darn persistent on. According to records, he doesn't even exist._" The man sighed. "_Are you sure we can't make do with the scientists we already have at our disposal?_"

"Those scientists tried, and failed." Mother pointed out as she sauntered up the stairs, her heels clacking with every step. "I assure you the professor is still alive, so keep digging. If his skills live up to what the rumors claim to be, he shall be able to construct the device once we have the plans."

"_Speaking of plans, where exactly are they located?_"

Mother smirked as she glanced down to the page again. "Have your children ready. They're going to on a little excursion to their abandoned treehouse." The woman chuckled as she closed the device. Her hand typed in a set of codes and the massive pod began its trek back to the Positive world. Her sky blue orbs flickered over to a confused Lehcar, then back to the book page as she continued reading. "Oh, it shall not be long now."

* * *

_Fellow Kids Next Door. After much planning and consideration, I as the Seventh Ages' first Supreme Leader have come to a decision. This time of rebuilding is a time for change. We have made much progress. We have shattered boarders by allowing girls into our ranks. We have done the impossible by constructing the cracker-jack Moonbase. So much has changed. But I fear there is one other matter I must change before my reign is over._

_As you know, once an operative reaches the age of thirteen they are decommissioned. Their booger is removed, their operative status terminated, and they are returned into civilian life; restricted from our future operations. They are given the boot if you will. But I'm afraid that simply 'kicking them out' isn't enough. When the teenager leaves, they leave with all of our secrets. The risk of them becoming traitorous is far too great, and there is almost nothing we can do to prevent it._

_That is, until today. _

_Using core technology from the weapon that defeated Pappy, one of our top scientists has devised a solution to this 'decommissioning' problem. But, the process itself is harsh, teetering on cruel. A kid is asked to give up so much upon joining us, and by asking them to give up _this…_ It is a matter I've spent many a Saturday thinking over, and as horrible as it may sound, I fear I have no other option. I will not let us meet the same fate as the Sixth Age. So it is with that, that I give my final verdict._

_I, Numbuh Zero, Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, hereby decree that from this day forth, once an operative reaches the age of thirteen they are to undergo a new mandatory process. One of our scientists has created chambers; chambers that will drain a teenager of all his memory of the Kids Next Door. He will forget his first day at Arctic Training. He will forget the moment he was a Cadet no longer. He will forget serving with his sector. He will forget basking in candy with us. He may even forget his entire childhood itself. This process shall be known as mind wiping,_

_This process, shall be known as true Decommissioning._

_I am saddened it has come to this, but the risk of letting our greatest secrets roam free is something I will not take. The inventor of this new process is the same who created the weapon to erase the mind my father. This inventor has already built our new Decommissioning Branch on the Moonbase. This operative is currently under the protection of Sector Z at their hidden treehouse; working on fine tuning the new Decommissioning process as we speak. If you are to hate, then do not hate this operative, hate me knowing I ordered this to be done. But know this, I will make an example. In the next three months, I will gladly step into that chamber and surrender my childhood so that other children may keep theirs. I only hope that you shall do the same when the time comes._

_In closing, I am restricting permission to investigate this operative. To protect him or her from backlash, I am officially erasing all records of this kids' existence. The operative will only be known as the unknown variable of our numerical organization. Who is it you still ask? It is Blankety Blank Blank,_

_Codename: Numbuh X

* * *

_

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**Transmission Corrupted**

**ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.**

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**X**


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